,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 ,variations in spelling have been preserved except in obvious cases of typographical error4 ,hyphenation is inconsistent4 ,as the oe ligature cannot be included in this format1 it has been replaced with the separate letters as in ,phoenicia4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,editor of ,the ,expositor ,,authorized ,,edition1 ,,complete ,,and ,,unabridged ,,bound ,,in ,,twenty-,,five ,,volumes ,,new ,,york ,,funk ,,wagnalls ,,company ,,lafayette ,,place #aijj ,,judges ,,and ,,ruth4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,robert ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d41 ,,author ,,of ,,gospels ,,of ,,yesterday4 ,,new ,,york ,,funk ,,wagnalls ,,company ,,lafayette ,,place #aijj ,,contents4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,judges4 ,i4 ,,page ,,problems ,,of ,,settlement ,,and ,,war #c ,,judges ,i4 #a-aa4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,sword #ah ,,judges ,i4 #ab-bf4 ,,iii4 ,,at ,,bochim3 ,,the ,,first ,,prophet ,,voice #ca ,,judges ,,ii4 #a-e4 ,,iv4 ,,among ,,the ,,rocks ,,of ,,paganism #de ,,judges ,,ii4 #g-bc4 ,v4 ,,the ,,arm ,,of ,,aram ,,and ,,of ,,othniel #fa ,,judges ,,iii4 #a-aa4 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,dagger ,,and ,,the ,,ox-,,goad #gg ,,judges ,,iii4 #ab-ca4 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,sibyl ,,of ,,mount ,,ephraim #ia ,,judges ,,iv4 ,,viii4 ,,deborah',s ,,song3 ,a ,,divine ,,vision #ajf ,,judges ,v4 ,,ix4 ,,deborah',s ,,song3 ,a ,,chant ,,of ,,patriotism #abj ,,judges ,v4 ,x4 ,,the ,,desert ,,hordes2 ,,and ,,the ,,man ,,at ,,ophrah #ace ,,judges ,,vi4 #a-ad4 ,,xi4 ,,gideon1 ,,iconoclast ,,and ,,reformer #aej ,,judges ,,vi4 #ae-cb4 ,,xii4 ,,the ,,people ,,are ,,yet ,,too ,,many #afd ,,judges ,,vi4 #cc-,,vii4 #g4 ,,xiii4 ,,midian',s ,,evil ,,day #agh ,,judges ,,vii4 #h-,,viii4 #ba4 ,,xiv4 ,,gideon ,,the ,,ecclesiastic #aie ,,judges ,,viii4 #bb-bh4 ,,xv4 ,,abimelech ,,and ,,jotham #bji ,,judges ,,viii4 #bi-;,,ix4 #eg4 ,,xvi4 ,,gilead ,,and ,,its ,,chief #bbd ,,judges ,x4 ,i-,,xi4 #aa4 ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,terrible ,,vow #bci ,,judges ,,xi4 #ab-dj4 ,,xviii4 ,,shibboleths #bed ,,judges ,,xii4 #a-g4 ,,xix4 ,,the ,,angel ,,in ,,the ,,field #bff ,,judges4 ,,xiii4 #a-ah4 ,,xx4 ,,samson ,,plunging ,,into ,,life #bgi ,,judges ,,xiii4 #bd-,,xiv4 #bj4 ,,xxi4 ,,dauntless ,,in ,,battle1 ,,ignorantly ,,brave #bic ,,judges ,,xv4 ,,xxii4 ,,pleasure ,,and ,,peril ,,in ,,gaza #cjg ,,judges ,,xvi4 #a-c4 ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,sorek ,,and ,,of ,,death #cai ,,judges ,,xvi4 #d-ca4 ,,xxiv4 ,,the ,,stolen ,,gods #cce ,,judges ,,xvii41 ,,xviii4 ,,xxv4 ,,from ,,justice ,,to ,,wild ,,revenge #cdh ,,judges ,,xix4-,,xxi4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,ruth4 ,i4 ,,naomi',s ,,burden #cfc ,,ruth ,i4 #a-ac4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,parting ,,of ,,the ,,ways #cge ,,ruth ,i4 #ad-ai4 ,,iii4 ,,in ,,the ,,field ,,of ,,boaz #chf ,,ruth ,i4 #ai-;,,ii4 #bc4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,hazardous ,,plan #cig ,,ruth ,,iii4 ,v4 ,,the ,,marriage ,,at ,,the ,,gate #djh ,,ruth ,,iv4 ,,index #dba ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,judges4 ,i4 ,,problems ,,of ,,settlement ,,and ,,war4 ,,judges i4 #a-aa4 ,it was a new hour in the history of ,israel4 ,to a lengthened period of serfdom there had succeeded a time of sojourn in tents1 when the camp of the tribes1 half-military1 half-pastoral1 clustering about the ,tabernacle of ,witness1 moved with it from point to point through the desert4 ,now the march was over2 the nomads had to become settlers1 a change not easy for them as they expected it to be1 full of significance for the world4 ,the ,book of ,judges1 therefore1 is a second ,genesis or ,chronicle of ,beginnings so far as the ,hebrew commonwealth is concerned4 ,we see the birth-throes of national life1 the experiments1 struggles1 errors and disasters out of which the moral force of the people gradually rose1 growing like a pine tree out of rocky soil4 ,if we begin our study of the book expecting to find clear evidence of an established ,theocracy1 a spiritual idea of the kingdom of ,god ever present to the mind1 ever guiding the hope and effort of the tribes1 we shall experience that bewilderment which has not seldom fallen upon students of ,old ,testament history4 ,divide the life of man into two parts1 the sacred and the secular2 regard the latter as of no real value compared to the other1 as having no relation to that ,divine purpose of which the ,bible is the oracle2 then the ,book of ,judges must appear out of place in the sacred canon1 for unquestionably its main topics are secular from first to last4 ,it preserves the traditions of an age when spiritual ideas and aims were frequently out of sight1 when a nation was struggling for bare existence1 or1 at best1 for a rude kind of unity and freedom4 ,but human life1 sacred and secular1 is one4 ,a single strain of moral urgency runs through the epochs of national development from barbarism to ,christian civilization4 ,a single strain of urgency unites the boisterous vigour of the youth and the sagacious spiritual courage of the man4 ,it is on the strength first1 and then on the discipline and purification of the will1 that everything depends4 ,there must be energy1 or there can be no adequate faith1 no earnest religion4 ,we trace in the ,book of ,judges the springing up and growth of a collective energy which gives power to each separate life4 ,to our amazement we may discover that the ,mosaic ,law and ,ordinances are neglected for a time2 but there can be no doubt of ,divine ,providence1 the activity of the redeeming ,spirit4 ,great ends are being served1--a development is proceeding which will by-and-by make religious thought strong1 obedience and worship zealous4 ,it is not for us to say that spiritual evolution ought to proceed in this way or that4 ,in the study of natural and supernatural fact our business is to observe with all possible care the goings forth of ,god and to find as far as we may their meaning and issue4 ,faith is a profound conviction that the facts of the world justify themselves and the wisdom and righteousness of the ,eternal2 it is the key that makes history articulate1 no mere tale full of sound and fury signifying nothing4 ,and the key of faith which here we are to use in the interpretation of ,hebrew life has yet to be applied to all peoples and times4 ,that this may be done we firmly believe3 there is needed only the mind broad enough in wisdom and sympathy to gather the annals of the world into one great ,bible or ,book of ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,opening the story of the ,judges1 we find ourselves in a keen atmosphere of warlike ardour softened by scarcely an air of spiritual grace4 ,at once we are plunged into military preparations2 councils of war meet and the clash of weapons is heard4 ,battle follows battle4 ,iron chariots hurtle along the valleys1 the hillsides bristle with armed men4 ,the songs are of strife and conquest2 the great heroes are those who smite the uncircumcised hip and thigh4 ,it is the story of ,jehovah's people2 but where is ,jehovah the merciful8 ,does ,he reign among them1 or sanction their enterprise8 ,where amid this turmoil and bloodshed is the movement towards the far-off ,messiah and the holy mountain where nothing shall hurt or destroy8 ,does ,israel prepare for blessing all nations by crushing those that occupy the land he claims8 ,problems many meet us in ,bible history2 here surely is one of the gravest4 ,and we cannot go with ,judah in that first expedition2 we must hold back in doubt till clearly we understand how these wars of conquest are necessary to the progress of the world4 ,then1 even though the tribes are as yet unaware of their destiny and how it is to be fulfilled1 we may go up with them against ,adoni-bezek4 ,canaan is to be colonised by the seed of ,abraham1 ,canaan and no other land4 ,it is not now1 as it was in ,abraham's time1 a sparsely peopled country1 with room enough for a new race4 ,canaanites1 ,hivites1 ,perizzites1 ,amorites cultivate the plain of ,esdraelon and inhabit a hundred cities throughout the land4 ,the ,hittites are in considerable force1 a strong people with a civilization of their own4 ,to the north ,phoenicia is astir with a mercantile and vigorous race4 ,the ,philistines have settlements southward along the coast4 ,had ,israel sought a region comparatively unoccupied1 such might1 perhaps1 have been found on the northern coast of ,africa4 ,but ,syria is the destined home of the tribes4 ,the old promise to ,abraham has been kept before the minds of his descendants4 ,the land to which they have moved through the desert is that of which he took earnest by the purchase of a grave4 ,but the promise of ,god looks forward to the circumstances that are to accompany its fulfilment2 and it is justified because the occupation of ,canaan is the means to a great development of righteousness4 ,for1 mark the position which the ,hebrew nation is to take4 ,it is to be the central state of the world1 in verity the ,mountain of ,god's ,house for the world4 ,then observe how the situation of ,canaan fits it to be the seat of this new progressive power4 ,egypt1 ,babylon1 ,assyria1 ,greece1 ,rome1 ,carthage1 lie in a rude circle around it4 ,from its sea-board the way is open to the west4 ,across the valley of ,jordan goes the caravan route to the ,east4 ,the ,nile1 the ,orontes1 the ,a,egean ,sea are not far off4 ,canaan does not confine its inhabitants1 scarcely separates them from other peoples4 ,it is in the midst of the old world4 ,is not this one reason why ,israel must inhabit ,palestine8 ,suppose the tribes settled in the highlands of ,armenia or along the ,persian ,gulf2 suppose them to have migrated westward from ,egypt instead of eastward1 and to have found a place of habitation on towards ,libya3 would the history in that case have had the same movement and power8 ,would the theatre of prophecy and the scene of the ,messiah's work have set the gospel of the ages in the same relief1 or the growing ,city of ,god on the same mountain height8 ,not only is ,canaan accessible to the emigrants from ,egypt1 but it is by position and configuration suited to develop the genius of the race4 ,gennesaret and ,asphaltitis2 the tortuous ,jordan and ,kishon1 that river of battles2 the cliffs of ,engedi1 ,gerizim and ,ebal1 ,carmel and ,tabor1 ,moriah and ,olivet1--these are needed as the scene of the great ,divine revelation4 ,no other rivers1 no other lakes nor mountains on the surface of the earth will do4 ,this1 however1 is but part of the problem which meets us in regard to the settlement in ,canaan4 ,there are the inhabitants of the land to be considered--these ,amorites1 ,hittites1 ,jebusites1 ,hivites4 ,how do we justify ,israel in displacing them1 slaying them1 absorbing them8 ,here is a question first of evolution1 then of the character of ,god4 ,do we justify ,saxons in their raid on ,britain8 ,history does4 ,they become dominant1 they rule1 they slay1 they assimilate2 and there grows up ,british nationality strong and trusty1 the citadel of freedom and religious life4 ,the case is similar1 yet there is a difference1 strongly in favour of ,israel as an invading people4 ,for the ,israelites have been tried by stern discipline3 they are held together by a moral law1 a religion divinely revealed1 a faith vigorous though but in germ4 ,the ,saxons worshipping ,thor1 ,frea and ,woden sweep religion before them in the first rush of conquest4 ,they begin by destroying ,roman civilization and ,christian culture in the land they ravage4 ,they appear dogs1 wolves1 whelps from the kennel of barbarism to the ,britons they overcome4 ,but the ,israelites have learned to fear ,jehovah1 and they bear with them the ark of ,his covenant4 ,as for the ,canaanitish tribes1 compare them now with what they were when ,abraham and ,isaac fed their flocks in the plain of ,mamre or about the springs of ,beersheba4 ,abraham found in ,canaan noble courteous men4 ,aner1 ,eshcol and ,mamre1 ,amorites1 were his trusted confederates2 ,ephron the ,hittite matched his magnanimity2 ,abimelech of ,gerar feared the ,lord4 ,in ,salem reigned a king or royal priest1 ,melchizedek1 unique in ancient history1 a majestic unsullied figure1 who enjoyed the respect and tribute of the ,hebrew patriarch4 ,where are the successors of those men8 ,idolatry has corrupted ,canaan4 ,the old piety of simple races has died away before the hideous worship of ,moloch and ,ashtoreth4 ,it is over degenerate peoples that ,israel is to assert its dominance2 they must learn the way of ,jehovah or perish4 ,this conquest is essential to the progress of the world4 ,here in the centre of empires a stronghold of pure ideas and commanding morality is to be established1 an altar of witness for the true ,god4 ,so far we move without difficulty towards a justification of the ,hebrew descent on ,canaan4 ,still1 however1 when we survey the progress of conquest1 the idea struggling for confirmation in our minds that ,god was ,king and ,guide of this people1 while at the same time we know that all nations could equally claim ,him as their ,origin1 marking how on field after field thousands were left dying and dead1 we have to find an answer to the question whether the slaughter and destruction even of idolatrous races for the sake of ,israel can be explained in harmony with ,divine justice4 ,and this passes into still wider inquiries4 ,is there intrinsic value in human life8 ,have men a proper right of existence and self-development8 ,does not ,divine ,providence imply that the history of each people1 the life of each person will have its separate end and vindication8 ,there is surely a reason in the righteousness and love of ,god for every human experience1 and ,christian thought cannot explain the severity of ,old ,testament ordinances by assuming that the ,supreme has made a new dispensation for ,himself4 ,the problem is difficult1 but we dare not evade it nor doubt a full solution to be possible4 ,we pass here beyond mere natural evolution4 ,it is not enough to say that there had to be a struggle for life among races and individuals4 ,if natural forces are held to be the limit and equivalent of ,god1 then survival of the fittest may become a religious doctrine1 but assuredly it will introduce us to no ,god of pardon1 no hope of redemption4 ,we must discover a ,divine end in the life of each person1 a member it may be of some doomed race1 dying on a field of battle in the holocaust of its valour and chivalry4 ,explanation is needed of all slaughtered and waste lives1 untold myriads of lives that never tasted freedom or knew holiness4 ,the explanation we find is this3 that for a human life in the present stage of existence the opportunity of struggle for moral ends--it may be ends of no great dignity1 yet really moral1 and1 as the race advances1 religious--this makes life worth living and brings to every one the means of true and lasting gain4 ,where ignorant armies clash by night there may be in the opposing ranks the most various notions of religion and of what is morally good4 ,the histories of the nations that meet in shock of battle determine largely what hopes and aims guide individual lives4 ,but to the thousands who do valiantly this conflict belongs to the vital struggle in which some idea of the morally good or of religious duty directs and animates the soul4 ,for hearth and home1 for wife and children1 for chief and comrades1 for ,jehovah or ,baal1 men fight1 and around these names there cluster thoughts the sacredest possible to the age1 dignifying life and war and death4 ,there are better kinds of struggle than that which is acted on the bloody field2 yet struggle of one kind or other there must be4 ,it is the law of existence for the barbarian1 for the ,hebrew1 for the ,christian4 ,ever there is a necessity for pressing towards the mark1 striving to reach and enter the gate of higher life4 ,no land flowing with milk and honey to be peaceably inherited and enjoyed rewards the generation which has fought its way through the desert4 ,no placid possession of cities and vineyards rounds off the life of ,canaanitish tribe4 ,the gains of endurance are reaped1 only to be sown again in labour and tears for a further harvest4 ,here on earth this is the plan of ,god for men2 and when another life crowns the long effort of this world of change1 may it not be with fresh calls to more glorious duty and achievement8 ,but the golden cord of ,divine ,providence has more than one strand2 and while the conflicts of life are appointed for the discipline of men and nations in moral vigour and in fidelity to such religious ideas as they possess1 the purer and stronger faith always giving more power to those who exercise it1 there is also in the course of life1 and especially in the suffering war entails1 a reference to the sins of men4 ,warfare is a sad necessity4 ,itself often a crime1 it issues the judgment of ,god against folly and crime4 ,now ,israel1 now the ,canaanite becomes a hammer of ,jehovah4 ,one people has been true to its best1 and by that faithfulness it gains the victory4 ,another has been false1 cruel1 treacherous1 and the hands of the fighters grow weak1 their swords lose edge1 their chariot-wheels roll heavily1 they are swept away by the avenging tide4 ,or the sincere1 the good are overcome2 the weak who are in the right sink before the wicked who are strong4 ,yet the moral triumph is always gained4 ,even in defeat and death there is victory for the faithful4 ,in these wars of ,israel we find many a story of judgment as well as a constant proving of the worth of man's religion and virtue4 ,neither was ,israel always in the right1 nor had those races which ,israel overcame always a title to the power they held and the land they occupied4 ,jehovah was a stern arbiter among the combatants4 ,when ,his own people failed in the courage and humility of faith1 they were chastised4 ,on the other hand1 there were tyrants and tyrannous races1 freebooters and banditti1 pagan hordes steeped in uncleanness who had to be judged and punished4 ,where we cannot trace the reason of what appears mere waste of life or wanton cruelty1 there lie behind1 in the ken of the ,all-seeing1 the need and perfect vindication of all ,he suffered to be done in the ebb and flow of battle1 amid the riot of war4 99 99 99 99 99 ,beginning now with the detailed narrative1 we find first a case of retribution1 in which the ,israelites served the justice of ,god4 ,as yet the ,canaanite power was unbroken in the central region of ,western ,palestine1 where ,adoni-bezek ruled over the cities of seventy chiefs4 ,it became a question who should lead the tribes against this petty despot1 and recourse was had to the priests at ,gilgal for ,divine direction4 ,the answer of the oracle was that ,judah should head the campaign1 the warlike vigour and numerical strength of that tribe fitting it to take the foremost place4 ,judah accepting the post of honour invited ,simeon1 closely related by common descent from ,leah1 to join the expedition2 and thus began a confederacy of these southern tribes which had the effect of separating them from the others throughout the whole period of the judges4 ,the locality of ,bezek which the king of the ,canaanites held as his chief fortress is not known4 ,probably it was near the ,jordan valley1 about half-way between the two greater lakes4 ,from it the tyranny of ,adoni-bezek extended northward and southward over the cities of the seventy1 whose submission he had cruelly ensured by rendering them unfit for war4 ,here1 in the first struggle1 ,judah was completely successful4 ,the rout of the ,canaanites and ,perizzites was decisive1 and the slaughter so great as to send a thrill of terror through the land4 ,and now the rude judgment of men works out the decree of ,god4 ,adoni-bezek suffers the same mutilation as he had inflicted on the captive chiefs and in ,oriental manner makes acknowledgment of a just fate4 ,there is a certain religiousness in his mind1 and he sincerely bows himself under the judgment of a ,god against ,whom he had tried issues in vain4 ,had these troops of ,israel come in the name of ,jehovah8 ,then ,jehovah had been watching ,adoni-bezek in his pride when as he daily feasted in his hall the crowd of victims grovelled at his feet like dogs4 ,thus early did ideas of righteousness and of wide authority attach themselves in ,canaan to the name of ,israel's ,god4 ,it is remarkable how on the appearance of a new race the first collision with it on the battlefield will produce an impression of its capacity and spirit and of unseen powers fighting along with it4 ,joshua's dash through ,canaan doubtless struck far and wide a belief that the new comers had a mighty ,god to support them2 the belief is reinforced1 and there is added a thought of ,divine justice4 ,the retribution of ,jehovah meant ,godhead far larger and more terrible1 and at the same time more august1 than the religion of ,baal had ever presented to the mind4 ,from this point the ,israelites1 if they had been true to their heavenly ,king1 fired with the ardour of ,his name1 would have occupied a moral vantage ground and proved invincible4 ,the fear of ,jehovah would have done more for them than their own valour and arms4 ,had the people of the land seen that a power was being established amongst them in the justice and benignity of which they could trust1 had they learned not only to fear but to adore ,jehovah1 there would have been quick fulfilment of the promise which gladdened the large heart of ,abraham4 ,the realization1 however1 had to wait for many a century4 ,it cannot be doubted that ,israel had under ,moses received such an impulse in the direction of faith in the one ,god1 and such a conception of ,his character and will1 as declared the spiritual mission of the tribes4 ,the people were not all aware of their high destiny1 not sufficiently instructed to have a competent sense of it2 but the chiefs of the tribes1 the ,levites and the heads of households1 should have well understood the part that fell to ,israel among the nations of the world4 ,the law in its main outlines was known1 and it should have been revered as the charter of the commonwealth4 ,under the banner of ,jehovah the nation ought to have striven not for its own position alone1 the enjoyment of fruitful fields and fenced cities1 but to raise the standard of human morality and enforce the truth of ,divine religion4 ,the gross idolatry of the peoples around should have been continually testified against2 the principles of honesty1 of domestic purity1 of regard for human life1 of neighbourliness and parental authority1 as well as the more spiritual ideas expressed in the first table of the ,decalogue1 ought to have been guarded and dispensed as the special treasure of the nation4 ,in this way ,israel1 as it enlarged its territory1 would from the first have been clearing one space of earth for the good customs and holy observances that make for spiritual development4 ,the greatest of all trusts is committed to a race when it is made capable of this2 but here ,israel often failed1 and the reproaches of her prophets had to be poured out from age to age4 ,the ascendency which ,israel secured in ,canaan1 or that which ,britain has won in ,india1 is not1 to begin with1 justified by superior strength1 nor by higher intelligence1 nor even because in practice the religion of the conquerors is better than that of the vanquished4 ,it is justified because1 with all faults and crimes that may for long attend the rule of the victorious race1 there lie1 unrealised at first1 in conceptions of ,god and of duty the promise and germ of a higher education of the world4 ,developed in the course of time1 the spiritual genius of the conquerors vindicates their ambition and their success4 ,the world is to become the heritage and domain of those who have the secret of large and ascending life4 ,judah moving southward from ,bezek took ,jerusalem1 not the stronghold on the hill-top1 but the city1 and smote it with the edge of the sword4 ,not yet did that citadel which has been the scene of so many conflicts become a rallying-point for the tribes4 ,the army1 leaving ,adoni-bezek dead in ,jerusalem1 with many who owned him as chief1 swept southward still to ,hebron and ,debir4 ,at ,hebron the task was not unlike that which had been just accomplished4 ,there reigned three chiefs1 ,sheshai1 ,ahiman and ,talmai1 who are mentioned again and again in the annals as if their names had been deeply branded on the memory of the age4 ,they were sons of ,anak1 bandit captains1 whose rule was a terror to the country side4 ,their power had to be assailed and overthrown1 not only for the sake of ,judah which was to inhabit their stronghold1 but for the sake of humanity4 ,the law of ,god was to replace the fierce unregulated sway of inhuman violence and cruelty4 ,so the practical duty of the hour carried the tribes beyond the citadel where the best national centre would have been found to attack another where an evil power sat entrenched4 ,one moral lies on the surface here4 ,we are naturally anxious to gain a good position in life for ourselves1 and every consideration is apt to be set aside in favour of that4 ,now1 in a sense1 it is necessary1 one of the first duties1 that we gain each a citadel for himself4 ,our influence depends to a great extent on the standing we secure1 on the courage and talent we show in making good our place4 ,our personality must enlarge itself1 make itself visible by the conquest we effect and the extent of affairs we have a right to control4 ,effort on this line needs not be selfish or egoistic in a bad sense4 ,the higher self or spirit of a good man finds in chosen ranges of activity and possession its true development and calling4 ,one may not be a worldling by any means while he follows the bent of his genius and uses opportunity to become a successful merchant1 a public administrator1 a great artist or man of letters4 ,all that he adds to his native inheritance of hand1 brain and soul should be and often is the means of enriching the world4 ,against the false doctrine of self-suppression1 still urged on a perplexed generation1 stands this true doctrine1 by which the generous helper of men guides his life so as to become a king and priest unto ,god4 ,and when we turn from persons of highest character and talent to those of smaller capacity1 we may not alter the principle of judgment4 ,they1 too1 serve the world1 in so far as they have good qualities1 by conquering citadels and reigning where they are fit to reign4 ,if a man is to live to any purpose1 play must be given to his original vigour1 however much or little there is of it4 ,here1 then1 we find a necessity belonging to the spiritual no less than to the earthly life4 ,but there lies close beside it the shadow of temptation and sin4 ,thousands of people put forth all their strength to gain a fortress for themselves1 leaving others to fight the sons of ,anak--the intemperance1 the unchastity1 the atheism of the time4 ,instead of triumphing over the earthly1 they are ensnared and enslaved4 ,the truth is1 that a safe position for ourselves we cannot have while those sons of ,anak ravage the country around4 ,the ,divine call therefore often requires of us that we leave a ,jerusalem unconquered for ourselves1 while we pass on with the hosts of ,god to do battle with the public enemy4 ,time after time ,israel1 though successful at ,hebron1 missed the secret and learnt in bitter sadness and loss how near is the shadow to the glory4 ,and for any one to-day1 what profits it to be a wealthy man1 living in state with all the appliances of amusement and luxury1 well knowing1 but not choosing to share the great conflicts between religion and ungodliness1 between purity and vice8 ,if the ignorance and woe of our fellow-creatures do not draw our hearts1 if we seek our own things as loving our own1 if the spiritual does not command us1 we shall certainly lose all that makes life--enthusiasm1 strength1 eternal joy4 ,give us men who fling themselves into the great struggle1 doing what they can with ,christ-born ardour1 foot soldiers if nothing else in the army of the ,lord of ,righteousness4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,sword4 ,,judges i4 #ab-bf4 ,the name ,kiriath-sepher1 that is ,book-,town1 has been supposed to point to the existence of a semi-popular literature among the pre-,judaean inhabitants of ,canaan4 ,we cannot build with any certainty upon a name2 but there are other facts of some significance4 ,already the ,phoenicians1 the merchants of the age1 some of whom no doubt visited ,kiriath-sepher on their way to ,arabia or settled in it1 had in their dealings with ,egypt begun to use that alphabet to which most languages1 from ,hebrew and ,aramaic on through ,greek and ,latin to our own1 are indebted for the idea and shapes of letters4 ,and it is not improbable that an old-world ,phoenician library of skins1 palm-leaves or inscribed tablets had given distinction to this town lying away towards the desert from ,hebron4 ,written words were held in half-superstitious veneration1 and a very few records would greatly impress a district peopled chiefly by wandering tribes4 ,nothing is insignificant in the pages of the ,bible1 nothing is to be disregarded that throws the least light upon human affairs and ,divine ,providence2 and here we have a suggestion of no slight importance4 ,doubt has been cast on the existence of a written language among the ,hebrews till centuries after the ,exodus4 ,it has been denied that the ,law could have been written out by ,moses4 ,the difficulty is now seen to be imaginary1 like many others that have been raised4 ,it is certain that the ,phoenicians trading to ,egypt in the time of the ,hyksos kings had settlements quite contiguous to ,goshen4 ,what more likely than that the ,hebrews1 who spoke a language akin to the ,phoenician1 should have shared the discovery of letters almost from the first1 and practised the art of writing in the days of their favour with the monarchs of the ,nile valley8 ,the oppression of the following period might prevent the spread of letters among the people2 but a man like ,moses must have seen their value and made himself familiar with their use4 ,the importance of this indication in the study of ,hebrew law and faith is very plain4 ,nor should we fail to notice the interesting connection between the ,divine lawgiving of ,moses and the practical invention of a worldly race4 ,there is no exclusiveness in the providence of ,god4 ,the art of a people1 acute and eager indeed1 but without spirituality1 is not rejected as profane by the inspired leader of ,israel4 ,egyptians and ,phoenicians have their share in originating that culture which mingles its stream with sacred revelation and religion4 ,as1 long afterwards1 there came the printing-press1 a product of human skill and science1 and by its help the ,reformation spread and grew and filled ,europe with new thought1 so for the early record of ,god's work and will human genius furnished the fit instrument4 ,letters and religion1 culture and faith must needs go hand in hand4 ,the more the minds of men are trained1 the more deftly they can use literature and science1 the more able they should be to receive and convey the spiritual message which the ,bible contains4 ,culture which does not have this effect betrays its own pettiness and parochialism2 and when we are provoked to ask whether human learning is not a foe to religion1 the reason must be that the favourite studies of the time are shallow1 aimless and ignoble4 99 99 99 99 99 ,kiriath-sepher has to be taken4 ,its inhabitants1 strongly entrenched1 threaten the people who are settling about ,hebron and must be subdued2 and ,caleb1 who has come to his possession1 adopts a common expedient for rousing the ambitious young men of the tribe4 ,he has a daughter1 and marriage with her shall reward the man who takes the fortress4 ,it is not likely that ,achsah objected4 ,a courageous and capable husband was1 we may say1 a necessity1 and her father's proposal offered a practical way of settling her in safety and comfort4 ,customs which appear to us barbarous and almost insulting have no doubt justified themselves to the common-sense1 if not fully to the desires of women1 because they were suited to the exigencies of life in rude and stormy times4 ,there is this also1 that the conquest of ,kiriath-sepher was part of the great task in which ,israel was engaged1 and ,achsah1 as a patriotic daughter of ,abraham1 would feel the pride of being able to reward a hero of the sacred war4 ,to the degree in which she was a woman of character this would balance other considerations4 ,still the custom is not an ideal one2 there is too much uncertainty4 ,while the rivalry for her hand is going on the maiden has to wait at home1 wondering what her fate shall be1 instead of helping to decide it by her own thought and action4 ,the young man1 again1 does not commend himself by honour1 but only by courage and skill4 ,yet the test is real1 so far as it goes1 and fits the time4 ,achsah1 no doubt1 had her preference and her hope1 though she dared not speak of them4 ,as for modern feeling1 it is professedly on the side of the heart in such a case1 and modern literature1 with a thousand deft illustrations1 proclaims the right of the heart to its choice4 ,we call it a barbarous custom1 the disposition of a woman by her father1 apart from her preference1 to one who does him or the community a service2 and although ,achsah consented1 we feel that she was a slave4 ,no doubt the ,hebrew wife in her home had a place of influence and power1 and a woman might even come to exercise authority among the tribes2 but1 to begin with1 she was under authority and had to subdue her own wishes in a manner we consider quite incompatible with the rights of a human being4 ,very slowly do the customs of marriage even in ,israel rise from the rudeness of savage life4 ,abraham and ,sarah1 long before this1 lived on something like equality1 he a prince1 she a princess4 ,but what can be said of ,hagar1 a concubine outside the home-circle1 who might be sent any day into the wilderness8 ,david and ,solomon afterwards can marry for state reasons1 can take1 in pure ,oriental fashion1 the one his tens1 the other his hundreds of wives and concubines4 ,polygamy survives for many a century4 ,when that is seen to be evil1 there remains to men a freedom of divorce which of necessity keeps women in a low and unhonoured state4 ,yet1 thus treated1 woman has always duties of the first importance1 on which the moral health and vigour of the race depend2 and right nobly must many a ,hebrew wife and mother have fulfilled the trust4 ,it is a pathetic story2 but now1 perhaps1 we are in sight of an age when the injustice done to women may be replaced by an injustice they do to themselves4 ,liberty is their right1 but the old duties remain as great as ever4 ,if neither patriotism1 nor religion1 nor the home is to be regarded1 but mere taste2 if freedom becomes license to know and enjoy1 there will be another slavery worse than the former4 ,without a very keen sense of ,christian honour and obligation among women1 their enfranchisement will be the loss of what has held society together and made nations strong4 ,and looking at the way in which marriage is frequently arranged by the free consent and determination of women1 is there much advance on the old barbarism8 ,how often do they sell themselves to the fortunate1 rather than reserve themselves for the fit2 how often do they marry not because a helpmeet of the soul has been found1 but because audacity has won them or jewels have dazzled2 because a fireside is offered1 not because the ideal of life may be realized4 ,true1 in the worldliness there is a strain of moral effort often pathetic enough4 ,women are skilful at making the best of circumstances1 and even when the gilding fades from the life they have chosen they will struggle on with wonderful resolution to maintain something like order and beauty4 ,the ,othniel who has gained ,achsah by some feat of mercantile success or showy talk may turn out a poor pretender to bravery or wit2 but she will do her best for him1 cover up his faults1 beg springs of water or even dig them with her own hands4 ,let men thank ,god that it is so1 and let them help her to find her right place1 her proper kingdom and liberty4 ,there is another aspect of the picture1 however1 as it unfolds itself4 ,the success of ,othniel in his attack on ,kiriath-sepher gave him at once a good place as a leader1 and a wife who was ready to make his interests her own and help him to social position and wealth4 ,her first care was to acquire a piece of land suitable for the flocks and herds she saw in prospect1 well watered if possible1--in short1 an excellent sheep-farm4 ,returning from the bridal journey1 she had her stratagem ready1 and when she came near her father's tent followed up her husband's request for the land by lighting eagerly from her ass1 taking for granted the one gift1 and pressing a further petition--,give me a blessing1 father4 ,a south land thou hast bestowed1 give me also wells of water4 ,so1 without more ado1 the new ,kenazite homestead was secured4 ,how ,jewish1 we may be disposed to say4 ,may we not also say1 ,how thoroughly ,british8 ,the virtue of ,achsah1 is it not the virtue of a true ,british wife8 ,to urge her husband on and up in the social scale1 to aid him in every point of the contest for wealth and place1 to raise him and rise with him1 what can be more admirable8 ,are there opportunities of gaining the favour of the powerful who have offices to give1 the liking of the wealthy who have fortunes to bequeath8 ,the managing wife will use these opportunities with address and courage4 ,she will light off her ass and bow humbly before a flattered great man to whom she prefers a request4 ,she can fit her words to the occasion and her smiles to the end in view4 ,it is a poor spirit that is content with anything short of all that may be had3 thus in brief she might express her principle of duty4 ,and so in ten thousand homes there is no question whether marriage is a failure4 ,it has succeeded4 ,there is a combination of man's strength and woman's wit for the great end of getting on4 ,and in ten thousand others there is no thought more constantly present to the minds of husband and wife than that marriage is a failure4 ,for restless ingenuity and many schemes have yielded nothing4 ,the husband has been too slow or too honest1 and the wife has been foiled2 or1 on the other hand1 the woman has not seconded the man1 has not risen with him4 ,she has kept him down by her failings2 or she is the same simple-minded1 homely person he wedded long ago1 no fit mate1 of course1 for one who is the companion of magnates and rulers4 ,well may those who long for a reformation begin by seeking a return to simplicity of life and the relish for other kinds of distinction than lavish outlay and social notoriety can give4 ,until married ambition is fed and hallowed at the ,christian altar there will be the same failures we see now1 and the same successes which are worse than failures4 99 99 99 99 99 ,for a moment the history gives us a glimpse of another domestic settlement4 ,the children of the ,kenite went up from the ,city of ,palm ,trees with the children of ,judah1 and found a place of abode on the southern fringe of ,simeon's territory1 and there they seem to have gradually mingled with the tent-dwellers of the desert4 ,by-and-by we shall find one ,heber the ,kenite in a different part of the land1 near the ,sea of ,galilee1 still in touch with the ,israelites to some extent1 while his people are scattered4 ,heber may have felt the power of ,israel's mission and career and judged it wise to separate from those who had no interest in the tribes of ,jehovah4 ,the ,kenites of the south appear in the history like men upon a raft1 once borne near shore1 who fail to seize the hour of deliverance and are carried away again to the wastes of sea4 ,they are part of the drifting population that surrounds the ,hebrew church1 type of the drifting multitude who in the nomadism of modern society are for a time seen in our ,christian assemblies1 then pass away to mingle with the careless4 ,an innate restlessness and a want of serious purpose mark the class4 ,to settle these wanderers in orderly religious life seems almost impossible2 we can perhaps only expect to sow among them seeds of good1 and to make them feel a ,divine presence restraining from evil4 ,the assertion of personal independence in our day has no doubt much to do with impatience of church bonds and habits of worship2 and it must not be forgotten that this is a phase of growing life needing forbearance no less than firm example4 99 99 99 99 99 ,zephath was the next fortress against which ,judah and ,simeon directed their arms4 ,when the tribes were in the desert on their long and difficult march they attempted first to enter ,canaan from the south1 and actually reached the neighbourhood of this town4 ,but1 as we read in the ,book of ,numbers1 ,arad the king of ,zephath fought against them and took some of them prisoners4 ,the defeat appears to have been serious1 for1 arrested and disheartened by it1 ,israel turned southward again1 and after a long detour reached ,canaan another way4 ,in the passage in ,numbers the overthrow of ,zephath is described by anticipation2 in ,judges we have the account in its proper historical place4 ,the people whom ,arad ruled were1 we may suppose1 an ,edomite clan living partly by merchandise1 mainly by foray1 practised marauders1 with difficulty guarded against1 who having taken their prey disappeared swiftly amongst the hills4 ,in the world of thought and feeling there are many ,zephaths1 whence quick outset is often made upon the faith and hope of men4 ,we are pressing towards some end1 mastering difficulties1 contending with open and known enemies4 ,only a little way remains before us4 ,but invisible among the intricacies of experience is this lurking foe who suddenly falls upon us4 ,it is a settlement in the faith of ,god we seek4 ,the onset is of doubts we had not imagined1 doubts of inspiration1 of immortality1 of the incarnation1 truths the most vital4 ,we are repulsed1 broken1 disheartened4 ,there remains a new wilderness journey till we reach by the way of ,moab the fords of our ,jordan and the land of our inheritance4 ,yet there is a way1 sure and appointed4 ,the baffled1 wounded soul is never to despair4 ,and when at length the settlement of faith is won1 the ,zephath of doubt may be assailed from the other side1 assailed successfully and taken4 ,the experience of some poor victims of what is oddly called philosophic doubt need dismay no one4 ,for the resolute seeker after ,god there is always a victory1 which in the end may prove so easy1 so complete1 as to amaze him4 ,the captured ,zephath is not destroyed nor abandoned1 but is held as a fortress of faith4 ,it becomes ,hormah--the ,consecrated4 99 99 99 99 99 ,victories were gained by ,judah in the land of the ,philistines1 partial victories1 the results of which were not kept4 ,gaza1 ,ashkelon1 ,ekron were occupied for a time2 but ,philistine force and doggedness recovered1 apparently in a few years1 the captured towns4 ,wherever they had their origin1 these ,philistines were a strong and stubborn race1 and so different from the ,israelites in habit and language that they never freely mingled nor even lived peaceably with the tribes4 ,at this time they were probably forming their settlements on the ,mediterranean seaboard1 and were scarcely able to resist the men of ,judah4 ,but ship after ship from over sea1 perhaps from ,crete1 brought new colonists2 and during the whole period till the ,captivity they were a thorn in the side of the ,hebrews4 ,beside these1 there were other dwellers in the lowlands1 who were equipped in a way that made it difficult to meet them4 ,the most vehement sally of men on foot could not break the line of iron chariots1 thundering over the plain4 ,it was in the hill districts that the tribes gained their surest footing1--a singular fact1 for mountain people are usually hardest to defeat and dispossess2 and we take it as a sign of remarkable vigour that the invaders so soon occupied the heights4 ,here the spiritual parallel is instructive4 ,conversion1 it may be said1 carries the soul with a rush to the high ground of faith4 ,the ,great ,leader has gone before preparing the way4 ,we climb rapidly to fortresses from which the enemy has fled1 and it would seem that victory is complete4 ,but the ,christian life is a constant alternation between the joy of the conquered height and the stern battles of the foe-infested plain4 ,worldly custom and sensuous desire1 greed and envy and base appetite have their cities and chariots in the low ground of being4 ,so long as one of them remains the victory of faith is unfinished1 insecure4 ,piety that believes itself delivered once for all from conflict is ever on the verge of disaster4 ,the peace and joy men cherish1 while as yet the earthly nature is unsubdued1 the very citadels of it unreconnoitred1 are visionary and relaxing4 ,for the soul and for society the only salvation lies in mortal combat--life-long1 age-long combat with the earthly and the false4 ,nooks enough may be found among the hills1 pleasant and calm1 from which the low ground cannot be seen1 where the roll of the iron chariots is scarcely heard4 ,it may seem to imperil all if we descend from these retreats4 ,but when we have gained strength in the mountain air it is for the battle down below1 it is that we may advance the lines of redeemed life and gain new bases for sacred enterprise4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a mark of the humanness and1 shall we not also say1 the divineness of this history is to be found in the frequent notices of other tribes than those of ,israel4 ,to the inspired writer it is not all the same whether ,canaanites die or live1 what becomes of ,phoenicians or ,philistines4 ,of this we have two examples1 one the case of the ,jebusites1 the other of the people of ,luz4 ,the ,jebusites1 after the capture of the lower city already recorded1 appear to have been left in peaceful possession of their citadel and accepted as neighbours by the ,benjamites4 ,when the ,book of ,judges was written ,jebusite families still remained1 and in ,david's time ,araunah the ,jebusite was a conspicuous figure4 ,a series of terrible events connected with the history of ,benjamin is narrated towards the end of the ,book4 ,it is impossible to say whether the crime which led to these events was in any way due to bad influence exercised by the ,jebusites4 ,we may charitably doubt whether it was4 ,there is no indication that they were a depraved people4 ,if they had been licentious they could scarcely have retained till ,david's time a stronghold so central and of so much consequence in the land4 ,they were a mountain clan1 and ,araunah shows himself in contact with ,david a reverend and kingly person4 ,as for ,bethel or ,luz1 around which gathered notable associations of ,jacob's life1 ,ephraim1 in whose territory it lay1 adopted a stratagem in order to master it1 and smote the city4 ,one family alone1 the head of which had betrayed the place1 was allowed to depart in peace1 and a new ,luz was founded in the land of the ,hittites4 ,we are inclined to regard the traitor as deserving of death1 and ,ephraim appears to us disgraced1 not honoured1 by its exploit4 ,there is a fair1 straightforward way of fighting2 but this tribe1 one of the strongest1 chooses a mean and treacherous method of gaining its end4 ,are we mistaken in thinking that the care with which the founding of the new city is described shows the writer's sympathy with the ,luzzites8 ,at any rate1 he does not by one word justify ,ephraim2 and we do not feel called on to restrain our indignation4 ,the high ideal of life1 how often it fades from our view6 ,there are times when we realize our ,divine calling1 when the strain of it is felt and the soul is on fire with sacred zeal4 ,we press on1 fight on1 true to the highest we know at every step4 ,we are chivalrous1 for we see the chivalry of ,christ2 we are tender and faithful1 for we see ,his tenderness and faithfulness4 ,then we make progress2 the goal can almost be touched4 ,we love1 and love bears us on4 ,we aspire1 and the world glows with light4 ,but there comes a change4 ,the thought of self-preservation1 of selfish gain1 has intruded4 ,on pretext of serving ,god we are hard to man1 we keep back the truth1 we use compromises1 we descend even to treachery and do things which in another are abominable to us4 ,so the fervour departs1 the light fades from the world1 the goal recedes1 becomes invisible4 ,most strange of all is it that side by side with cultured religion there can be proud sophistry and ignorant scorn1 the very treachery of the intellect towards man4 ,far away in the dimness of ,israel's early days we see the beginnings of a pious inhumanity1 that may well make us stay to fear lest the like should be growing among ourselves4 ,it is not what men claim1 much less what they seize and hold1 that does them honour4 ,here and there a march may be stolen on rivals by those who firmly believe they are serving ,god4 ,but the rights of a man1 a tribe1 a church lie side by side with duties2 and neglect of duty destroys the claim to what otherwise would be a right4 ,let there be no mistake3 power and gain are not allowed in the providence of ,god to anyone that he may grasp them in despite of justice or charity4 ,one thought may link the various episodes we have considered4 ,it is that of the end for which individuality exists4 ,the home has its development of personality--for service4 ,the peace and joy of religion nourish the soul--for service4 ,life may be conquered in various regions1 and a man grow fit for ever greater victories1 ever nobler service4 ,but with the end the means and spirit of each effort are so interwoven that alike in home1 and church1 and society the human soul must move in uttermost faithfulness and simplicity or fail from the ,divine victory that wins the prize4 ,,iii4 ,,at ,,bochim2 ,,the ,,first ,,prophet ,,voice4 ,,judges ii4 #a-e4 ,from the time of ,abraham on to the settlement in ,canaan the ,israelites had kept the faith of the one ,god4 ,they had their origin as a people in a decisive revolt against polytheism4 ,of the great ,semite forefather of the ,jewish people1 it has been finely said1 ,he bore upon his forehead the seal of the ,absolute ,god1 upon which was written1 ,this race will rid the earth of superstition4 ,the character and structure of the ,hebrew tongue resisted idolatry4 ,it was not an imaginative language2 it had no mythological colour4 ,we who have inherited an ancient culture of quite another kind do not think it strange to read or sing3 ,hail1 smiling morn1 that tip'st the hills with gold1 ,whose rosy fingers ope the gates of day1 ,who the gay face of nature dost unfold1 ,at whose bright presence darkness flies away4 ,these lines1 however1 are full of latent mythology4 ,the smiling morn is ,aurora1 the darkness that flies away before the dawn is the ,erebus of the ,greeks4 ,nothing of this sort was possible in ,hebrew literature4 ,in it all change1 all life1 every natural incident are ascribed to the will and power of one ,supreme ,being4 ,jehovah thundered in the heavens and the ,highest gave ,his voice1 hailstones and coals of fire4 ,by the breath of ,god ice is given1 and the breadth of the waters is straitened4 ,behold1 ,he spreadeth ,his light around ,him2 444 ,he covereth ,his hands with the lightning4 ,thou makest darkness and it is night4 ,always in forms like these ,hebrew poetry sets forth the control of nature by its invisible ,king4 ,the pious word of ,fenelon1 ,what do ,i see in nature8 ,god2 ,god everywhere2 ,god alone1 had its germ1 its very substance1 in the faith and language of patriarchal times4 ,there are some who allege that this simple faith in one ,god1 sole ,origin and ,ruler of nature and life1 impoverished the thought and speech of the ,hebrews4 ,it was in reality the spring and safeguard of their spiritual destiny4 ,their very language was a sacred inheritance and preparation4 ,from age to age it served a ,divine purpose in maintaining the idea of the unity of ,god2 and the power of that idea never failed their prophets nor passed from the soul of the race4 ,the whole of ,israel's literature sets forth the universal sway and eternal righteousness of ,him who dwells in the high and lofty place1 ,whose name is ,holy4 ,in canto and strophe of the great ,divine ,poem1 the glory of the ,one ,supreme burns with increasing clearness1 till in ,christ its finest radiance flashes upon the world4 ,while the ,hebrews were in ,egypt1 the faith inherited from patriarchal times must have been sorely tried1 and1 all circumstances considered1 it came forth wonderfully pure4 ,the ,israelites saw ,egypt as the ,mussulman ,arab sees pagan countries1 entirely from the outside1 perceiving only the surface and external things4 ,they indeed carried with them into the desert the recollection of the sacred bulls or calves of which they had seen images at ,hathor and ,memphis4 ,but the idol they made at ,horeb was intended to represent their ,deliverer1 the true ,god1 and the swift and stern repression by ,moses of that symbolism and its pagan incidents appears to have been effectual4 ,the tribes reached ,canaan substantially free from idolatry1 though teraphim or fetishes may have been used in secret with magical ceremonies4 ,the religion of the people generally was far from spiritual1 yet there was a real faith in ,jehovah as the protector of the national life1 the guardian of justice and truth4 ,from this there was no falling away when the ,reubenites and ,gadites on the east of ,jordan erected an altar for themselves4 ,the ,lord ,god of gods1 they said1 ,he knoweth1 and ,israel he shall know if it be in rebellion1 or if in transgression against the ,lord4 ,the altar was called ,ed1 a witness between east and west that the faith of the one ,living ,god was still to unite the tribes4 ,but the danger to ,israel's fidelity came when there began to be intercourse with the people of ,canaan1 now sunk from the purer thought of early times4 ,everywhere in the land of the ,hittites and ,amorites1 ,hivites and ,jebusites1 there were altars and sacred trees1 pillars and images used in idolatrous worship4 ,the ark and the altar of ,divine religion1 established first at ,gilgal near ,jericho1 afterwards at ,bethel and then at ,shiloh1 could not be frequently visited1 especially by those who settled towards the southern desert and in the far north4 ,yet the necessity for religious worship of some kind was constantly felt2 and as afterwards the synagogues gave opportunity for devotional gatherings when the ,temple could not be reached1 so in the earlier time there came to be sacred observances on elevated places1 a windy threshing-floor1 or a hill-top already used for heathen sacrifice4 ,hence1 on the one hand1 there was the danger that worship might be entirely neglected1 on the other hand the grave risk that the use of heathen occasions and meeting-places should lead to heathen ritual1 and those who came together on the hill of ,baal should forget ,jehovah4 ,it was the latter evil that grew2 and while as yet only a few ,hebrews easily led astray had approached with kid or lamb a pagan altar1 the alarm was raised4 ,at ,bochim a ,divine warning was uttered which found echo in the hearts of the people4 ,there appears to have been a great gathering of the tribes at some spot near ,bethel4 ,we see the elders and heads of families holding council of war and administration1 the thoughts of all bent on conquest and family settlement4 ,religion1 the purity of ,jehovah's worship1 are forgotten in the business of the hour4 ,how shall the tribes best help each other in the struggle that is already proving more arduous than they expected8 ,dan is sorely pressed by the ,amorites4 ,the chiefs of the tribe are here telling their story of hardship among the mountains4 ,the ,asherites have failed in their attack upon the sea-board towns ,accho and ,achzib2 in vain have they pressed towards ,zidon4 ,they are dwelling among the ,canaanites and may soon be reduced to slavery4 ,the reports from other tribes are more hopeful2 but everywhere the people of the land are hard to overcome4 ,should ,israel not remain content for a time1 make the best of circumstances1 cultivate friendly intercourse with the population it cannot dispossess8 ,such a policy often commends itself to those who would be thought prudent2 it is apt to prove a fatal policy4 ,suddenly a spiritual voice is heard1 clear and intense1 and all others are silent4 ,from the sanctuary of ,god at ,gilgal one comes whom the people have not expected2 he comes with a message they cannot choose but hear4 ,it is a prophet with the burden of reproof and warning4 ,jehovah's goodness1 ,jehovah's claim are declared with ,divine ardour2 with ,divine severity the neglect of the covenant is condemned4 ,have the tribes of ,god begun to consort with the people of the land8 ,are they already dwelling content under the shadow of idolatrous groves1 in sight of the symbols of ,ashtoreth8 ,are they learning to swear by ,baal and ,melcarth and looking on while sacrifices are offered to these vile masters8 ,then they can no longer hope that ,jehovah will give them the country to enjoy2 the heathen shall remain as thorns in the side of ,israel and their gods shall be a snare4 ,it is a message of startling power4 ,from the hopes of dominion and the plans of worldly gain the people pass to spiritual concern4 ,they have offended their ,lord2 ,his countenance is turned from them4 ,a feeling of guilt falls on the assembly4 ,it came to pass that the people lifted up their voice and wept4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this lamentation at ,bochim is the second note of religious feeling and faith in the ,book of ,judges4 ,the first is the consultation of the priests and the oracle referred to in the opening sentence of the book4 ,jehovah ,who had led them through the wilderness was their ,king1 and unless ,he went forth as the unseen ,captain of the host no success could be looked for4 ,they asked of ,jehovah1 saying1 ,who shall go up for us first against the ,canaanites1 to fight against them8 ,in this appeal there was a measure of faith which is neither to be scorned nor suspected4 ,the question indeed was not whether they should fight at all1 but how they should fight so as to succeed1 and their trust was in a ,god thought of as pledged to them1 solely concerned for them4 ,so far accordingly there is nothing exemplary in the circumstances4 ,yet we find a lesson for ,christian nations4 ,there are many in our modern parliaments who are quite ready to vote national prayer in war-time and thanksgiving for victories1 who yet would never think1 before undertaking a war1 of consulting those best qualified to interpret the ,divine will4 ,the relation between religion and the state has this fatal hitch1 that however ,christian our governments profess to be1 the ,christian thinkers of the country are not consulted on moral questions1 not even on a question so momentous as that of war4 ,it is passion1 pride1 or diplomacy1 never the wisdom of ,christ1 that leads nations in the critical moments of their history4 ,who then scorn1 who suspect the early ,hebrew belief8 ,those only who have no right2 those who as they laugh at ,god and faith shut themselves from the knowledge by which alone his can be understood2 and1 again1 those who in their own ignorance and pride unsheathe the sword without reference to ,him in ,whom they profess to believe4 ,we admit none of these to criticise ,israel and its faith4 ,at ,bochim1 where the second note of religious feeling is struck1 a deeper and clearer note1 we find the prophet listened to4 ,he revives the sense of duty1 he kindles a ,divine sorrow in the hearts of the people4 ,the national assembly is conscience-stricken4 ,let us allow this quick contrition to be the result1 in part1 of superstitious fear4 ,very rarely is spiritual concern quite pure4 ,in general it is the consequences of transgression rather than the evil of it that press on the minds of men4 ,forebodings of trouble and calamity are more commonly causes of sorrow than the loss of fellowship with ,god2 and if we know this to be the case with many who are convicted of sin under the preaching of the gospel1 we cannot wonder to find the penitence of old ,hebrew times mingled with superstition4 ,nevertheless1 the people are aware of the broken covenant1 burdened with a sense that they have lost the favour of their unseen ,guide4 ,there can be no doubt that the realization of sin and of justice turned against them is one cause of their tears4 ,here1 again1 if there is a difference between ,israel and ,christian nations1 it is not in favour of the latter4 ,are modern senates ever overcome by conviction of sin8 ,those who are in power seem to have no fear that they may do wrong4 ,glorifying their blunders and forgetting their errors1 they find no occasion for self-reproach1 no need to sit in sackcloth and ashes4 ,now and then1 indeed1 a day of fasting and humiliation is ordered and observed in state2 the sincere ,christian for his part feeling how miserably formal it is1 how far from the spontaneous expression of abasement and remorse4 ,god is called upon to help a people who have not considered their ways1 who design no amendment1 who have not even suspected that the ,divine blessing may come in still further humbling4 ,and turning to private life1 is there not as much of self-justification1 as little of real humility and faith8 ,the shallow nature of popular ,christianity is seen here1 that so few can read in disappointment and privation anything but disaster1 or submit without disgust and rebellion to take a lower place at the table of ,providence4 ,our weeping is so often for what we longed to gain or wished to keep in the earthly and temporal region1 so seldom for what we have lost or should fear to lose in the spiritual4 ,we grieve when we should rather rejoice that ,god has made us feel our need of ,him1 and called us again to our true blessedness4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the scene at ,bochim connects itself very notably with one nine hundred and fifty years later4 ,the poor fragments of the exiled tribes have been gathered again in the land of their fathers4 ,they are rebuilding ,jerusalem and the ,temple4 ,ezra has led back a company from ,babylon and has brought with him1 by the favour of ,artaxerxes1 no small treasure of silver and gold for the house of ,god4 ,to his astonishment and grief he hears the old tale of alliance with the inhabitants of the land1 intermarriage even of ,levites1 priests and princes of ,israel with women of the ,canaanite races4 ,in the new settlement of ,palestine the error of the first is repeated4 ,ezra calls a solemn assembly in the ,temple court--every one that trembles at the words of the ,god of ,israel4 ,till the evening sacrifice he sits prostrate with grief1 his garment rent1 his hair torn and dishevelled4 ,then on his knees before the ,lord he spreads forth his hands in prayer4 ,the trespasses of a thousand years afflict him1 afflict the faithful4 ,after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds1 shall we again break ,thy commandments1 and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations8 wouldest not ,thou be angry with us till ,thou hadst consumed us so that there should be no remnant nor any to escape8444 ,behold we are before ,thee in our guiltiness2 for none can stand before ,thee because of this4 ,the impressive lament of ,ezra and those who join in his confessions draws together a great congregation1 and the people weep very sore4 ,nine centuries and a half appear a long time in the history of a nation4 ,what has been gained during the period8 ,is the weeping at ,jerusalem in ,ezra's time1 like the weeping at ,bochim1 a mark of no deeper feeling1 no keener penitence8 ,has there been religious advance commensurate with the discipline of suffering1 defeat1 slaughter and exile1 dishonoured kings1 a wasted land8 ,have the prophets not achieved anything8 ,has not the ,temple in its glory1 in its desolation1 spoken of a ,heavenly power1 a ,divine rule1 the sense of which entering the souls of the people has established piety1 or at least a habit of separateness from heathen manners and life8 ,it may be hard to distinguish and set forth the gain of those centuries4 ,but it is certain that while the weeping at ,bochim was the sign of a fear that soon passed away1 the weeping in the ,temple court marked a new beginning in ,hebrew history4 ,by the strong action of ,ezra and ,nehemiah the mixed marriages were dissolved1 and from that time the ,jewish people became1 as they never were before1 exclusive and separate4 ,where nature would have led the nation ceased to go4 ,more and more strictly the law was enforced2 the age of puritanism began4 ,so1 let us say1 the sore discipline had its fruit4 ,and yet it is with a reservation only we can enjoy the success of those reformers who drew the sharp line between ,israel and his heathen neighbours1 between ,jew and ,gentile4 ,the vehemence of reaction urged the nation towards another error--,pharisaism4 ,nothing could be purer1 nothing nobler than the desire to make ,israel a holy people4 ,but to inspire men with religious zeal and yet preserve them from spiritual pride is always difficult1 and in truth those ,hebrew reformers did not see the danger4 ,there came to be1 in the new development of faith1 zeal enough1 jealousy enough1 for the purity of religion and life1 but along with these a contempt for the heathen1 a fierce enmity towards the uncircumcised1 which made the interval till ,christ appeared a time of strife and bloodshed worse than any that had been before4 ,from the beginning the ,hebrews were called with a holy calling1 and their future was bound up with their faithfulness to it4 ,their ideal was to be earnest and pure1 without bitterness or vainglory2 and that is still the ideal of faith4 ,but the ,jewish people like ourselves1 weak through the flesh1 came short of the mark on one side or passed beyond it on the other4 ,during the long period from ,joshua to ,nehemiah there was too little heat1 and then a fire was kindled which burned a sharp narrow path1 along which the life of ,israel has gone with ever-lessening spiritual force4 ,the unfulfilled ideal still waits1 the unique destiny of this people of ,god still bears them on4 ,bochim is a symbol4 ,there the people wept for a transgression but half understood and a peril they could not rightly dread4 ,there was genuine sorrow1 there was genuine alarm4 ,but it was the prophetic word1 not personal experience1 that moved the assembly4 ,and as at ,florence1 when ,savonarola's word1 shaking with alarm a people who had no vision of holiness1 left them morally weaker as it fell into silence1 so the weeping at ,bochim passed like a tempest that has bowed and broken the forest trees4 ,the chiefs of ,israel returned to their settlements with a new sense of duty and peril2 but ,canaanite civilization had attractions1 ,canaanite women a refinement which captivated the heart4 ,and the civilization1 the refinement1 were associated with idolatry4 ,the myths of ,canaan1 the poetry of ,tammuz and ,astarte1 were fascinating and seductive4 ,we wonder not that the pure faith of ,god was corrupted1 but that it survived4 ,in ,egypt the heathen worship was in a foreign tongue1 but in ,canaan the stories of the gods were whispered to ,israelites in a language they knew1 by their own kith and kin4 ,in many a home among the mountains of ,ephraim or the skirts of ,lebanon the pagan wife1 with her superstitious fears1 her dread of the anger of this god or that goddess1 wrought so on the mind of the ,jewish husband that he began to feel her dread and then to permit and share her sacrifices4 ,thus idolatry invaded ,israel1 and the long and weary struggle between truth and falsehood began4 ,we have spoken of ,bochim as a symbol1 and to us it may be the symbol of this1 that the very thing which men put from them in horror and with tears1 seeing the evil1 the danger of it1 does often insinuate itself into their lives4 ,the messenger is heard1 and while he speaks how near ,god is1 how awful is the sense of ,his being6 ,a thrill of keen feeling passes from soul to soul4 ,there are some in the gathering who have more spiritual insight than the rest1 and their presence raises the heat of emotion4 ,but the moment of revelation and of fervour passes1 the company breaks up1 and very soon those who have won no vision of holiness1 who have only feared as they entered into the cloud1 are in the common world again4 ,the finer strings of the soul were made to thrill1 the conscience was touched2 but if the will has not been braced1 if the man's reason and resoluteness are not engaged by a new conception of life1 the earthly will resume control and ,god will be less known than before4 ,so there are many cast down to-day1 crying to ,god in trouble of soul for evil done or evil which they are tempted to do1 who to-morrow among the ,canaanites will see things in another light4 ,a man cannot be a recluse4 ,he must mingle in business and in society with those who deride the thoughts that have moved him and laugh at his seriousness4 ,the impulse to something better soon exhausts itself in this cold atmosphere4 ,he turns upon his own emotion with contempt4 ,the words that came with ,divine urgency1 the man whose face was like that of an angel of ,god1 are already subjects of uneasy jesting1 will soon be thrust from memory4 ,over the interlude of superficial anxiety the mind goes back to its old haunts1 its old plans and cravings4 ,the religious teacher1 while he is often in no way responsible for this sad recoil1 should yet be ever on his guard against the risk of weakening the moral fibre1 of leaving men as ,christ never left them1 flaccid and infirm4 ,again1 there are cases that belong not to the history of a day1 but to the history of a life4 ,one may say1 when he hears the strangely tempting voices that whisper in the twilight streets1 ,am ,i a dog that from the holy traditions of my people and country ,i should fall away to these8 ,at first he flies the distasteful entreaty of the new nature-cult1 its fleshly art and song1 its nefarious science4 ,but the voices are persistent4 ,it is the perfecting of man and woman to which they invite4 ,it is not vice but freedom1 brightness1 life and the courage to enjoy it they cunningly propose4 ,there is not much of sweetness2 the voices rise1 they become stringent and overbearing4 ,if the man would not be a fool1 would not lose the good of the age into which he is born1 he will be done with unnatural restraints1 the bondage of purity4 ,thus entreaty passes into mastery4 ,here is truth2 there also seems to be fact4 ,little by little the subtle argument is so advanced that the degradation once feared is no longer to be seen4 ,it is progress now2 it is full development1 the assertion of power and privilege1 that the soul anticipates4 ,how fatal is the lure1 how treacherous the vision1 the man discovers when he has parted with that which even through deepest penitence he may never regain4 ,people are denying1 and it has to be reasserted that there is a covenant which the soul of man has to keep with ,god4 ,the thought is archaic1 and they would banish it4 ,but it stands the great reality for man2 and to keep that covenant in the grace of the ,divine ,spirit1 in the love of the holiest1 in the sacred manliness learned of ,christ1 is the only way to the broad daylight and the free summits of life4 ,how can nature be a saviour8 ,the suggestion is childish4 ,nature1 as we all know1 allows the hypocrite1 the swindler1 the traitor1 as well as the brave1 honest man1 the pure1 sweet woman4 ,is it said that man has a covenant with nature8 ,on the temporal and prudential side of his activities that is true4 ,he has relations with nature which must be apprehended1 must be wisely realised4 ,but the spiritual kingdom to which he belongs requires a wider outlook1 loftier aims and hopes4 ,the efforts demanded by nature have to be brought into harmony with those diviner aspirations4 ,man is bound to be prudent1 brave1 wise for eternity4 ,he is warned of his own sin and urged to fly from it4 ,this is the covenant with ,god which is wrought into the very constitution of his moral being4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it would be a mistake to suppose that the scene at ,bochim and the words which moved the assembly to tears had no lasting effect whatever4 ,the history deals with outstanding facts of the national development4 ,we hear chiefly of heroes and their deeds1 but we shall not doubt that there were minds which kept the glow of truth and the consecration of penitential tears4 ,the best lives of the people moved quietly on1 apart from the commotions and strifes of the time4 ,rarely are the great political names even of a religious community those of holy and devout men1 and1 undoubtedly1 this was true of ,israel in the time of the judges4 ,if we were to reckon only by those who appear conspicuously in these pages1 we should have to wonder how the spiritual strain of thought and feeling survived4 ,but it did survive2 it gained in clearness and force4 ,there were those in every tribe who kept alive the sacred traditions of ,sinai and the desert1 and ,levites throughout the land did much to maintain among the people the worship of ,god4 ,the great names of ,abraham and ,moses1 the story of their faith and deeds1 were the text of many an impressive lesson4 ,so the light of piety did not go out2 ,jehovah was ever the ,friend of ,israel1 even in its darkest day1 for in the heart of the nation there never ceased to be a faithful remnant maintaining the fear and obedience of the ,holy ,name4 ,,iv4 ,,among ,,the ,,rocks ,,of ,,paganism4 ,,judges ii4 #g-bc4 ,and ,joshua the son of ,nun1 the servant of the ,lord1 died1 being an hundred and ten years old4 ,and they buried him in the border of his inheritance in ,timnath-heres1 in the hill country of ,ephraim1 on the north of the mountain of ,gaash4 ,so1 long after the age of ,joshua1 the historian tells again how ,israel lamented its great chief1 and he seems to feel even more than did the people of the time the pathos and significance of the event4 ,how much a man of ,god has been to his generation those rarely know who stand beside his grave4 ,through faith in him faith in the ,eternal has been sustained1 many who have a certain piety of their own depending1 more than they have been aware1 upon their contact with him4 ,a glow went from him which insensibly raised to something like religious warmth souls that apart from such an influence would have been of the world worldly4 ,joshua succeeded ,moses as the mediator of the covenant4 ,he was the living witness of all that had been done in the ,exodus and at ,sinai4 ,so long as he continued with ,israel1 even in the feebleness of old age1 appearing1 and no more1 a venerable figure in the council of the tribes1 there was a representative of ,divine order1 one who testified to the promises of ,god and the duty of ,his people4 ,the elders who outlived him were not men like himself1 for they added nothing to faith2 yet they preserved the idea at least of the theocracy1 and when they passed away the period of ,israel's robust youth was at an end4 ,it is this the historian perceives1 and his review of the following age in the passage we are now to consider is darkened throughout by the cloudy and troubled atmosphere that overcame the fresh morning of faith4 ,we know the great design that should have made ,israel a singular and triumphant example to the nations of the world4 ,the body politic was to have its unity in no elected government1 in no hereditary ruler1 but in the law and worship of its ,divine ,king1 sustained by the ministry of priest and prophet4 ,every tribe1 every family1 every soul was to be equally and directly subject to the ,holy ,will as expressed in the law and by the oracles of the sanctuary4 ,the idea was that order should be maintained and the life of the tribes should go on under the pressure of the unseen ,hand1 never resisted1 never shaken off1 and full of bounty always to a trustful and obedient people4 ,there might be times when the head men of tribes and families should have to come together in council1 but it would be only to discover speedily and carry out with one accord the purpose of ,jehovah4 ,rightly do we regard this as an inspired vision2 it is at once simple and majestic4 ,when a nation can so live and order its affairs it will have solved the great problem of government still exercising every civilized community4 ,the ,hebrews never realized the theocracy1 and at the time of the settlement in ,canaan they came far short of understanding it4 ,israel had as yet scarcely found time to imbue its spirit deeply with the great truths which had been awakened into life in it1 and thus to appropriate them as an invaluable possession3 the vital principle of that religion and nationality by which it had so wondrously triumphed was still scarcely understood when it was led into manifold severe trials4#a ,thus1 while ,hebrew history presents for the most part the aspect of an impetuous river broken and jarred by rocks and boulders1 rarely settling into a calm expanse of mirror-like water1 during the period of the judges the stream is seen almost arrested in the difficult country through which it has to force its way4 ,it is divided by many a crag and often hidden for considerable stretches by overhanging cliffs4 ,it plunges in cataracts and foams hotly in cauldrons of hollowed rock4 ,not till ,samuel appears is there anything like success for this nation1 which is of no account if not earnestly religious1 and never is religious without a stern and capable chief1 at once prophet and judge1 a leader in worship and a restorer of order and unity among the tribes4 #a ,ewald4 ,the general survey or preface which we have before us gives but one account of the disasters that befell the ,hebrew people--they followed other gods1 and provoked the ,lord to anger4 ,and the reason of this has to be considered4 ,taking a natural view of the circumstances we might pronounce it almost impossible for the tribes to maintain their unity when they were fighting1 each in its own district1 against powerful enemies4 ,it seems by no means wonderful that nature had its way1 and that1 weary of war1 the people tended to seek rest in friendly intercourse and alliance with their neighbours4 ,were ,judah and ,simeon always to fight1 though their own territory was secure8 ,was ,ephraim to be the constant champion of the weaker tribes and never settle down to till the land8 ,it was almost more than could be expected of men who had the common amount of selfishness4 ,occasionally1 when all were threatened1 there was a combination of the scattered clans1 but for the most part each had to fight its own battle1 and so the unity of life and faith was broken4 ,nor can we marvel at the neglect of worship and the falling away from ,jehovah when we find so many who have been always surrounded by ,christian influences drifting into a strange unconcern as to religious obligation and privilege4 ,the writer of the ,book of ,judges1 however1 regards things from the standpoint of a high ,divine ideal--the calling and duty of a ,god-made nation4 ,men are apt to frame excuses for themselves and each other2 this historian makes no excuses4 ,where we might speak compassionately he speaks in sternness4 ,he is bound to tell the story from ,god's side1 and from ,god's side he tells it with puritan directness4 ,in a sense it might go sorely against the grain to speak of his ancestors as sinning grievously and meriting condign punishment4 ,but later generations needed to hear the truth1 and he would utter it without evasion4 ,it is surely ,nathan1 or some other prophet of ,samuel's line1 who lays bare with such faithfulness the infidelity of ,israel4 ,he is writing for the men of his own time and also for men who are to come2 he is writing for us1 and his main theme is the stern justice of ,jehovah's government4 ,god bestows privileges which men must value and use1 or they shall suffer4 ,when ,he declares ,himself and gives ,his law1 let the people see to it2 let them encourage and constrain each other to obey4 ,disobedience brings unfailing penalty4 ,this is the spirit of the passage we are considering4 ,israel is ,god's possession1 and is bound to be faithful4 ,there is no ,lord but ,jehovah1 and it is unpardonable for any ,israelite to turn aside and worship a false ,god4 ,the pressure of circumstances1 often made much of1 is not considered for a moment4 ,the weakness of human nature1 the temptations to which men and women are exposed1 are not taken into account4 ,was there little faith1 little spirituality8 ,every soul had its own responsibility for the decay1 since to every ,israelite ,jehovah had revealed ,his love and addressed ,his call4 ,inexorable therefore was the demand for obedience4 ,religion is stern because reasonable1 not an impossible service as easy human nature would fain prove it4 ,if men disbelieve they incur doom1 and it must fall upon them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,joshua and his generation having been gathered unto their fathers1 there arose another generation which knew not the ,lord1 nor yet the work which ,he had wrought for ,israel4 ,and the children of ,israel did that which was evil in the sight of the ,lord1 and served the ,baalim4 ,how common is the fall traced in these brief1 stern words1 the wasting of a sacred testimony that seemed to be deeply graven upon the heart of a race6 ,the fathers felt and knew2 the sons have only traditional knowledge and it never takes hold of them4 ,the link of faith between one generation and another is not strongly forged2 the most convincing proofs of ,god are not recounted4 ,here is a man who has learned his own weakness1 who has drained a bitter cup of discipline--how can he better serve his sons than by telling them the story of his own mistakes and sins1 his own suffering and repentance8 ,here is one who in dark and trying times has found solace and strength and has been lifted out of horror and despair by the merciful hand of ,god--how can he do a father's part without telling his children of his defeats and deliverance1 the extremity to which he was reduced and the restoring grace of ,christ8 ,but men hide their weaknesses1 and are ashamed to confess that they ever passed through the ,valley of ,humiliation4 ,they leave their own children unwarned to fall into the sloughs in which themselves were well-nigh swallowed up4 ,even when they have erected some ,ebenezer1 some monument of ,divine succour1 they often fail to bring their children to the spot1 and speak to them there with fervent recollection of the goodness of the ,lord4 ,was ,solomon when a boy led by ,david to the town of ,gath1 and told by him the story of his cowardly fear1 and how he fled from the face of ,saul to seek refuge among ,philistines8 ,was ,absalom in his youth ever taken to the plains of ,bethlehem and shown where his father fed the flocks1 a poor shepherd lad1 when the prophet sent for him to be anointed the coming ,king of ,israel8 ,had these young princes learned in frank conversation with their father all he had to tell of temptation and transgression1 of danger and redemption1 perhaps the one would never have gone astray in his pride nor the other died a rebel in that wood of ,ephraim4 ,the ,israelitish fathers were like many fathers still1 they left the minds of their boys and girls uninstructed in life1 uninstructed in the providence of ,god1 and this in open neglect of the law which marked out their duty for them with clear injunction1 recalling the themes and incidents on which they were to dwell4 ,one passage in the history of the past must have been vividly before the minds of those who crossed the ,jordan under ,joshua1 and should have stood a protest and warning against the idolatry into which families so easily lapsed throughout the land4 ,over at ,shittim1 when ,israel lay encamped on the skirts of the mountains of ,moab1 a terrible sentence of ,moses had fallen like a thunderbolt4 ,on some high place near the camp a festival of ,midianitish idolatry1 licentious in the extreme1 attracted great numbers of ,hebrews2 they went astray after the worst fashion of paganism1 and the nation was polluted in the idolatrous orgies4 ,then ,moses gave judgment--,take the heads of the people and hang them up before the ,lord1 against the sun4 ,and while that hideous row of stakes1 each bearing the transfixed body of a guilty chief1 witnessed in the face of the sun for the ,divine ordinance of purity1 there fell a plague that carried off twenty-four thousand of the transgressors4 ,was that forgotten8 ,did the terrible punishment of those who sinned in the matter of ,baal-peor not haunt the memories of men when they entered the land of ,baal-worship8 ,no3 like others1 they were able to forget4 ,human nature is facile1 and from a great horror of judgment can turn in quick recovery of the usual ease and confidence4 ,men have been in the valley of the shadow of death1 where the mouth of hell is2 they have barely escaped2 but when they return upon it from another side they do not recognize the landmarks nor feel the need of being on their guard4 ,they teach their children many things1 but neglect to make them aware of that right-seeming way the end whereof are the ways of death4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the worship of the ,baalim and ,ashtaroth and the place which this came to have in ,hebrew life require our attention here4 ,canaan had for long been more or less subject to the influence of ,chaldea and ,egypt1 and had received the imprint of their religious ideas4 ,the fish-god of ,babylon reappears at ,ascalon in the form of ,dagon1 the name of the goddess ,astarte and her character seem to be adapted from the ,babylonian ,ishtar4 ,perhaps these divinities were introduced at a time when part of the ,canaanite tribes lived on the borders of the ,persian ,gulf1 in daily contact with the inhabitants of ,chaldea4#b ,the ,egyptian ,isis and ,osiris1 again1 are closely connected with the ,tammuz and ,astarte worshipped in ,phoenicia4 ,in a general way it may be said that all the races inhabiting ,syria had the same religion1 but each tribe1 each people1 each town had its ,lord1 its ,master1 its ,baal1 designated by a particular title for distinction from the masters or ,baals of neighbouring cities4 ,the gods adored at ,tyre and ,sidon were called ,baal-,sur1 the ,master of ,tyre2 ,baal-,sidon1 the ,master of ,sidon4 ,the highest among them1 those that impersonated in its purity the conception of heavenly fire1 were called kings of the gods4 ,el or ,kronos reigned at ,byblos2 ,chemosh among the ,moabites2 ,amman among the children of ,ammon2 ,soutkhu among the ,hittites4 ,melcarth1 the ,baal of the world of death1 was the ,master of ,tyre4 ,each ,baal was associated with a female divinity1 who was the mistress of the town1 the queen of the heavens4 ,the common name of these goddesses was ,astarte4 ,there was an ,ashtoreth of ,chemosh among the ,moabites4 ,the ,ashtoreth of the ,hittites was called ,tanit4 ,there was an ,ashtoreth ,karnaim or ,horned1 so called with reference to the crescent moon2 and another was ,ashtoreth ,naamah1 the good ,astarte4 ,in short1 a special ,astarte could be created by any town and named by any fancy1 and ,baals were multiplied in the same way4 ,it is1 therefore1 impossible to assign any distinct character to these inventions4 ,the ,baalim mostly represented forces of nature--the sun1 the stars4 ,the ,astartes presided over love1 birth1 the different seasons of the year1 and--war4 ,the multitude of secondary ,baalim and ,ashtaroth tended to resolve themselves into a single supreme pair1 in comparison with whom the others had little more than a shadowy existence4 ,as the sun and moon outshine all the other heavenly bodies1 so two principal deities representing them were supreme4 #b ,maspero4 ,the worship connected with this horde of fanciful beings is well known to have merited the strongest language of detestation applied to it by the ,hebrew prophets4 ,the ceremonies were a strange and degrading blend of the licentious and the cruel1 notorious even in a time of gross and hideous rites4 ,the ,baalim were supposed to have a fierce and envious disposition1 imperiously demanding the torture and death not only of animals but of men4 ,the horrible notion had taken root that in times of public danger king and nobles must sacrifice their children in fire for the pleasure of the god4 ,and while nothing of this sort was done for the ,ashtaroth their demands were in one aspect even more vile4 ,self-mutilation1 self-defilement were acts of worship1 and in the great festivals men and women gave themselves up to debauchery which cannot be described4 ,no doubt some of the observances of this paganism were mild and simple4 ,feasts there were at the seasons of reaping and vintage which were of a bright and comparatively harmless character2 and it was by taking part in these that ,hebrew families began their acquaintance with the heathenism of the country4 ,but the tendency of polytheism is ever downward4 ,it springs from a curious and ignorant dwelling on the mysterious processes of nature1 untamed fancy personifying the causes of all that is strange and horrible1 constantly wandering therefore into more grotesque and lawless dreams of unseen powers and their claims on man4 ,the imagination of the worshipper1 which passes beyond his power of action1 attributes to the gods energy more vehement1 desires more sweeping1 anger more dreadful than he finds in himself4 ,he thinks of beings who are strong in appetite and will and yet under no restraint or responsibility4 ,in the beginning polytheism is not necessarily vile and cruel2 but it must become so as it develops4 ,the minds by whose fancies the gods are created and furnished with adventures are able to conceive characters vehemently cruel1 wildly capricious and impure4 ,but how can they imagine a character great in wisdom1 holiness and justice8 ,the additions of fable and belief made from age to age may hold in solution some elements that are good1 some of man's yearning for the noble and true beyond him4 ,the better strain1 however1 is overborne in popular talk and custom by the tendency to fear rather than to hope in presence of unknown powers1 the necessity which is felt to avert possible anger of the gods or make sure of their patronage4 ,sacrifices are multiplied1 the offerer exerting himself more and more to gain his main point at whatever expense2 while he thinks of the world of gods as a region in which there is jealousy of man's respect and a multitude of rival claims all of which must be met4 ,thus the whole moral atmosphere is thrown into confusion4 ,into a polytheism of this kind came ,israel1 to whom had been committed a revelation of the one true ,god1 and in the first moment of homage at heathen altars the people lost the secret of its strength4 ,certainly ,jehovah was not abandoned2 ,he was thought of still as the ,lord of ,israel4 ,but ,he was now one among many who had their rights and could repay the fervent worshipper4 ,at one high-place it was ,jehovah men sought1 at another the ,baal of the hill and his ,ashtoreth4 ,yet ,jehovah was still the special patron of the ,hebrew tribes and of no others1 and in trouble they turned to ,him for relief4 ,so in the midst of mythology ,divine faith had to struggle for existence4 ,the stone pillars which the ,israelites erected were mostly to the name of ,god1 but ,hebrews danced with ,hittite and ,jebusite around the poles of ,astarte1 and in revels of nature-worship they forgot their holy traditions1 lost their vigour of body and soul4 ,the doom of apostasy fulfilled itself4 ,they were unable to stand before their enemies4 ,the hand of the ,lord was against them for evil1 and they were greatly distressed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and why could not ,israel rest in the debasement of idolatry8 ,why did not the ,hebrews abandon their distinct mission as a nation and mingle with the races they came to convert or drive away8 ,they could not rest2 they could not mingle and forget4 ,is there ever peace in the soul of a man who falls from early impressions of good to join the licentious and the profane8 ,he has still his own personality1 shot through with recollections of youth and traits inherited from godly ancestors4 ,it is impossible for him to be at one with his new companions in their revelry and vice4 ,he finds that from which his souls revolts1 he feels disgust which he has to overcome by a strong effort of perverted will4 ,he despises his associates and knows in his inmost heart that he is of a different race4 ,worse he may become than they1 but he is never the same4 ,so was it in the degradation of the ,israelites1 both individually and as a nation4 ,from complete absorption among the peoples of ,canaan they were preserved by hereditary influences which were part of their very life1 by holy thoughts and hopes embodied in their national history1 by the rags of that conscience which remained from the law-giving of ,moses and the discipline of the wilderness4 ,moreover1 akin as they were to the idolatrous races1 they had a feeling of closer kinship with each other1 tribe with tribe1 family with family2 and the worship of ,god at the little-frequented shrine still maintained the shadow at least of the national consecration4 ,they were a people apart1 these ,beni-,israel1 a people of higher rank than ,amorites or ,perizzites1 ,hittites or ,phoenicians4 ,even when least alive to their destiny they were still held by it1 led on secretly by that heavenly hand which never let them go4 ,from time to time souls were born among them aglow with devout eagerness1 confident in the faith of ,god4 ,the tribes were roused out of lethargy by voices that woke many recollections of half-forgotten purpose and hope4 ,now from ,judah in the south1 now from ,ephraim in the centre1 now from ,dan or ,gilead a cry was raised4 ,for a time at least manhood was quickened1 national feeling became keen1 the old faith was partly revived1 and ,god had again a witness in ,his people4 ,we have found the writer of the ,book of ,judges consistent and unfaltering in his condemnation of ,israel2 he is equally consistent and eager in his vindication of ,god4 ,it is to him no doubtful thing1 but an assured fact1 that the ,holy ,one came with ,israel from ,paran and marched with the people from ,seir4 ,he has no hesitation in ascribing to ,divine providence and grace the deeds of those men who go by the name of judges4 ,it startles and even confounds some to note the plain direct terms in which ,god is made1 so to speak1 responsible for those rude warriors whose exploits we are to review1--for ,ehud1 for ,jephthah1 for ,samson4 ,the men are children of their age1 vehement1 often reckless1 not answering to the ,christian ideal of heroism4 ,they do rough work in a rough way4 ,if we found their history elsewhere than in the ,bible we should be disposed to class them with the ,roman ,horatius1 the ,saxon ,hereward1 the ,jutes ,hengest and ,horsa and hardly dare to call them men of ,god's hand4 ,but here they are presented bearing the stamp of a ,divine vocation2 and in the ,new ,testament it is emphatically reaffirmed4 ,what shall ,i more say8 for the time will fail me if ,i tell of ,gideon1 ,barak1 ,samson1 ,jephthah2 444 who through faith subdued kingdoms1 wrought righteousness1 obtained promises1 444 waxed mighty in war1 turned to flight armies of aliens4 ,there is a crude religious sentimentalism to which the ,bible gives no countenance4 ,where we1 mistaking the meaning of providence because we do not rightly believe in immortality1 are apt to think with horror of the miseries of men1 the vigorous veracity of sacred writers directs our thought to the moral issues of life and the vast movements of ,god's purifying design4 ,where we1 ignorant of much that goes to the making of a world1 lament the seeming confusion and the errors1 the ,bible seer discerns that the cup of red wine poured out is in the hand of ,almighty ,justice and ,wisdom4 ,it is of a piece with the superficial feeling of modern society to doubt whether ,god could have any share in the deeds of ,jephthah and the career of ,samson1 whether these could have any place in the ,divine order4 ,look at ,christ and ,his infinite compassion1 it is said2 read that ,god is love1 and then reconcile if you can this view of ,his character with the idea which makes ,barak and ,gideon ,his ministers4 ,out of all such perplexities there is a straight way4 ,you make light of moral evil and individual responsibility when you say that this war or that pestilence has no ,divine mission4 ,you deny eternal righteousness when you question whether a man1 vindicating it in the time-sphere1 can have a ,divine vocation4 ,the man is but a human instrument4 ,true4 ,he is not perfect1 he is not even spiritual4 ,true4 ,yet if there is in him a gleam of right and earnest purpose1 if he stands above his time in virtue of an inward light which shows him but a single truth1 and in the spirit of that strikes his blow--is it to be denied that within his limits he is a weapon of the holiest ,providence1 a helper of eternal grace8 ,the storm1 the pestilence have a providential errand4 ,they urge men to prudence and effort2 they prevent communities from settling on their lees4 ,but the hero has a higher range of usefulness4 ,it is not mere prudence he represents1 but the passion for justice4 ,for right against might1 for liberty against oppression he contends1 and in striking his blow he compels his generation to take into account morality and the will of ,god4 ,he may not see far1 but at least he stirs inquiry as to the right way1 and though thousands die in the conflict he awakens there is a real gain which the coming age inherits4 ,such a one1 however faulty however1 as we may say1 earthly1 is yet far above mere earthly levels4 ,his moral concepts may be poor and low compared with ours2 but the heat that moves him is not of sense1 not of clay4 ,obstructed it is by the ignorance and sin of our human estate1 nevertheless it is a supernatural power1 and so far as it works in any degree for righteousness1 freedom1 the realization of ,god1 the man is a hero of faith4 ,we do not affirm here that ,god approves or inspires all that is done by the leaders of a suffering people in the way of vindicating what they deem their rights4 ,moreover1 there are claims and rights so-called for which it is impious to shed a drop of blood4 ,but if the state of humanity is such that the ,son of ,god must die for it1 is there any room to wonder that men have to die for it8 ,given a cause like that of ,israel1 a need of the whole world which ,israel only could meet1 and the men who unselfishly1 at the risk of death1 did their part in the front of the struggle which that cause and that need demanded1 though they slew their thousands1 were not men of whom the ,christian teacher needs be afraid to speak4 ,and there have been many such in all nations1 for the principle by which we judge is of the broadest application1--men who have led the forlorn hopes of nations1 driven back the march of tyrants1 given law and order to an unsettled land4 ,judge after judge was raised up--the word is true--and rallied the tribes of ,israel1 and while each lived there were renewed energy and prosperity4 ,but the moral revival was never in the deeps of life and no deliverance was permanent4 ,it is only a faithful nation that can use freedom4 ,neither trouble nor release from trouble will certainly make either a man or a people steadily true to the best4 ,unless there is along with trouble a conviction of spiritual need and failure1 men will forget the prayers and vows they made in their extremity4 ,thus in the history of ,israel1 as in the history of many a soul1 periods of suffering and of prosperity succeed each other and there is no distinct growth of the religious life4 ,all these experiences are meant to throw men back upon the seriousness of duty1 and the great purpose ,god has in their existence4 ,we must repent not because we are in pain or grief1 but because we are estranged from the ,holy ,one and have denied the ,god of ,salvation4 ,until the soul comes to this it only struggles out of one pit to fall into another4 ,v4 ,,the ,,arm ,,of ,,aram ,,and ,,of ,,othniel4 ,,judges iii4 #a-aa4 ,we come now to a statement of no small importance1 which may be the cause of some perplexity4 ,it is emphatically affirmed that ,god fulfilled ,his design for ,israel by leaving around it in ,canaan a circle of vigorous tribes very unlike each other1 but alike in this1 that each presented to the ,hebrews a civilisation from which something might be learned but much had to be dreaded1 a seductive form of paganism which ought to have been entirely resisted1 an aggressive energy fitted to rouse their national feeling4 ,we learn that ,israel was led along a course of development resembling that by which other nations have advanced to unity and strength4 ,as the ,divine plan is unfolded1 it is seen that not by undivided possession of the ,promised ,land1 not by swift and fierce clearing away of opponents1 was ,israel to reach its glory and become ,jehovah's witness1 but in the way of patient fidelity amidst temptations1 by long struggle and arduous discipline4 ,and why should this cause perplexity8 ,if moral education did not move on the same line for all peoples in every age1 then indeed mankind would be put to intellectual confusion4 ,there was never any other way for ,israel than for the rest of the world4 ,these are the nations which the ,lord left to prove ,israel by them1 to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the ,lord4 ,the first-named are the ,philistines1 whose settlements on the coast-plain toward ,egypt were growing in power4 ,they were a maritime race1 apparently much like the ,danish invaders of ,saxon ,england1 sea-rovers or pirates1 ready for any fray that promised spoil4 ,in the great coalition of peoples that fell on ,egypt during the reign of ,ramses ,,iii41 about the year #abfj ,b4,c41 ,philistines were conspicuous1 and after the crushing defeat of the expedition they appear in larger numbers on the coast of ,canaan4 ,their cities were military republics skilfully organized1 each with a seren or war-chief1 the chiefs of the hundred cities forming a council of federation4 ,their origin is not known2 but we may suppose them to have been a branch of the ,amorite family1 who after a time of adventure were returning to their early haunts4 ,it may be reckoned certain that in wealth and civilization they presented a marked contrast to the ,israelites1 and their equipments of all kinds gave them great advantage in the arts of war and peace4 ,even in the period of the ,judges there were imposing temples in the ,philistine cities and the worship must have been carefully ordered4 ,how they compared with the ,hebrews in domestic life we have no means of judging1 but there was certainly some barrier of race1 language1 or custom between the peoples which made intermarriage very rare4 ,we can suppose that they looked upon the ,hebrews from their higher worldly level as rude and slavish4 ,military adventurers not unwilling to sell their services for gold would be apt to despise a race half-nomad1 half-rural4 ,it was in war1 not in peace1 that ,philistine and ,hebrew met1 contempt on either side gradually changing into keenest hatred as century after century the issue of battle was tried with varying success4 ,and it must be said that it was well for the tribes of ,jehovah rather to be in occasional subjection to the ,philistines1 and so learn to dread them1 than to mix freely with those by whom the great ideas of ,hebrew life were despised4 ,on the northward sea-board a quite different race1 the ,zidonians1 or ,phoenicians1 were in one sense better neighbours to the ,israelites1 in another sense no better friends4 ,while the ,philistines were haughty1 aristocratic1 military1 the ,phoenicians were the great bourgeoisie of the period1 clever1 enterprising1 eminently successful in trade4 ,like the other ,canaanites and the ancestors of the ,jews1 they were probably immigrants from the lower ,euphrates valley2 unlike the others1 they brought with them habits of commerce and skill in manufacture1 for which they became famous along the ,mediterranean shores and beyond the ,pillars of ,hercules4 ,between ,philistine and ,phoenician the ,hebrew was mercifully protected from the absorbing interests of commercial life and the disgrace of prosperous piracy4 ,the conscious superiority of the coast peoples in wealth and influence and the material elements of civilisation was itself a guard to the ,jews1 who had their own sense of dignity1 their own claim to assert4 ,the configuration of the country helped the separateness of ,israel1 especially so far as ,phoenicia was concerned1 which lay mainly beyond the rampart of ,lebanon and the gorge of the ,litany2 while with the fortress of ,tyre on the hither side of the natural frontier there appears to have been for a long time no intercourse1 probably on account of its peculiar position4 ,but the spirit of ,phoenicia was the great barrier4 ,along the crowded wharves of ,tyre and ,zidon1 in warehouses and markets1 factories and workshops1 a hundred industries were in full play1 and in their luxurious dwellings the busy prosperous traders1 with their silk-clad wives1 enjoyed the pleasures of the age4 ,from all this the ,hebrew1 rough and unkempt1 felt himself shut out1 perhaps with a touch of regret1 perhaps with scorn equal to that on the other side4 ,he had to live his life apart from that busy race1 apart from its vivacity and enterprise1 apart from its lubricity and worldliness4 ,the contempt of the world is ill to bear1 and the ,jew no doubt found it so4 ,but it was good for him4 ,the tribes had time to consolidate1 the religion of ,jehovah became established before ,phoenicia thought it worth while to court her neighbour4 ,early indeed the idolatry of the one people infected the other and there were the beginnings of trade1 yet on the whole for many centuries they kept apart4 ,not till a king throned in ,jerusalem could enter into alliance with a king of ,tyre1 crown with crown1 did there come to be that intimacy which had so much risk for the ,hebrew4 ,the humbleness and poverty of ,israel during the early centuries of its history in ,canaan was a providential safeguard4 ,god would not lose ,his people1 nor suffer it to forget its mission4 ,among the inland races with whom the ,israelites are said to have dwelt1 the ,amorites1 though mentioned along with ,perizzites and ,hivites1 had very distinct characteristics4 ,they were a mountain people like the ,scottish ,highlanders1 even in physiognomy much resembling them1 a tall1 white-skinned1 blue-eyed race4 ,warlike we know they were1 and the ,egyptian representation of the siege of ,dapur by ,ramses ,,ii4 shows what is supposed to be the standard of the ,amorites on the highest tower1 a shield pierced by three arrows surmounted by another arrow fastened across the top of the staff4 ,on the east of ,jordan they were defeated by the ,israelites and their land between ,arnon and ,jabbok was allotted to ,reuben and ,gad4 ,in the west they seem to have held their ground in isolated fortresses or small clans1 so energetic and troublesome that it is specially noted in ,samuel's time that a great defeat of the ,philistines brought peace between ,israel and the ,amorites4 ,a significant reference in the description of ,ahab's idolatry--he did very abominably in following idols according to all things as did the ,amorites--shows the religion of these people to have been ,baal-worship of the grossest kind2 and we may well suppose that by intermixture with them especially the faith of ,israel was debased4 ,even now1 it may be said1 the ,amorite is still in the land2 a blue-eyed1 fair-complexioned type survives1 representing that ancient stock4 ,passing some tribes whose names imply rather geographical than ethnical distinctions1 we come to the ,hittites1 the powerful people of whom in recent years we have learned something4 ,at one time these ,hittites were practically masters of the wide region from ,ephesus in the west of ,asia ,minor to ,carchemish on the ,euphrates1 and from the shores of the ,black ,sea to the south of ,palestine4 ,they appear to us in the archives of ,thebes and the poem of the ,laureate1 ,pentaur1 as the great adversaries of ,egypt in the days of ,ramses ,i4 and his successors2 and one of the most interesting records is of the battle fought about #achc ,b4,c4 at ,kadesh on the ,orontes1 between the immense armies of the two nations1 the ,egyptians being led by ,ramses ,,ii4 ,amazing feats were attributed to ,ramses1 but he was compelled to treat on equal terms with the great king of ,kheta1 and the war was followed by a marriage between the ,pharaoh and the daughter of the ,hittite prince4 ,syria too was given up to the latter as his legitimate possession4 ,the treaty of peace drawn up on the occasion1 in the name of the chief gods of ,egypt and of the ,hittites1 included a compact of offensive and defensive alliance and careful provisions for extradition of fugitives and criminals4 ,throughout it there is evident a great dependence upon the company of gods of either land1 who are largely invoked to punish those who break and reward those who keep its terms4 ,he who shall observe these commandments which the silver tablet contains1 whether he be of the people of ,kheta or of the people of ,egypt1 because he has not neglected them1 the company of the gods of the land of ,kheta and the company of the gods of the land of ,egypt shall secure his reward and preserve life for him and his servants4#c ,from this time the ,amorites of southern ,palestine and the minor ,canaanite peoples submitted to the ,hittite dominion1 and it was while this subjection lasted that the ,israelites under ,joshua appeared on the scene4 ,there can be no doubt that the tremendous conflict with ,egypt had exhausted the population of ,canaan and wasted the country1 and so prepared the way for the success of ,israel4 ,the ,hittites indeed were strong enough had they seen fit to oppose with great armies the new comers into ,syria4 ,but the centre of their power lay far to the north1 perhaps in ,cappadocia2 and on the frontier towards ,nineveh they were engaged with more formidable opponents4 ,we may also surmise that the ,hittites1 whose alliance with ,egypt was by ,joshua's time somewhat decayed1 would look upon the ,hebrews1 to begin with1 as fugitives from the misrule of the ,pharaoh who might be counted upon to take arms against their former oppressors4 ,this would account1 in part at least1 for the indifference with which the ,israelite settlement in ,canaan was regarded2 it explains why no vigorous attempt was made to drive back the tribes4 #c ,the ,hittites1 by ,a4 ,h4 ,sayce1 ,,ll4,d41 p4 #cf4 ,for the characteristics of the ,hittites1 whose appearance and dress constantly suggest a ,mongolian origin1 we can now consult their monuments4 ,a vigorous people they must have been1 capable of government1 of extensive organization1 concerned to perfect their arts as well as to increase their power4 ,original contributors to civilization they probably were not1 but they had skill to use what they found and spread it widely4 ,their worship of ,sutekh or ,soutkhu1 and especially of ,astarte under the name of ,ma1 who reappears in the ,great ,diana of ,ephesus1 must have been very elaborate4 ,a single ,cappadocian city is reported to have had at one time six thousand armed priestesses and eunuchs of that goddess4 ,in ,palestine there were not many of this distinct and energetic people when the ,hebrews crossed the ,jordan4 ,a settlement seems to have remained about ,hebron1 but the armies had withdrawn2 ,kadesh on the ,orontes was the nearest garrison4 ,one peculiar institution of ,hittite religion was the holy city1 which afforded sanctuary to fugitives2 and it is notable that some of these cities in ,canaan1 such as ,kadesh-,naphtali and ,hebron1 are found among the ,hebrew cities of refuge4 ,it was as a people at once enticed and threatened1 invited to peace and constantly provoked to war1 that ,israel settled in the circle of ,syrian nations4 ,after the first conflicts1 ending in the defeat of ,adoni-bezek and the capture of ,hebron and ,kiriath-sepher1 the ,hebrews had an acknowledged place1 partly won by their prowess1 partly by the terror of ,jehovah which accompanied their arms4 ,to ,philistines1 ,phoenicians and ,hittites1 as we have seen1 their coming mattered little1 and the other races had to make the best of affairs1 sometimes able to hold their ground1 sometimes forced to give way4 ,the ,hebrew tribes1 for their part1 were1 on the whole1 too ready to live at peace and to yield not a little for the sake of peace4 ,intermarriages made their position safer1 and they intermarried with ,amorites1 ,hivites1 ,perizzites4 ,interchange of goods was profitable1 and they engaged in barter4 ,the observance of frontiers and covenants helped to make things smooth1 and they agreed on boundary lines of territory and terms of fraternal intercourse4 ,the acknowledgment of their neighbours' religion was the next thing1 and from that they did not shrink4 ,the new neighbours were practically superior to themselves in many ways1 well-informed as to the soil1 the climate1 the methods of tillage necessary in the land1 well able to teach useful arts and simple manufactures4 ,little by little the debasing notions and bad customs that infest pagan society entered ,hebrew homes4 ,comfort and prosperity came2 but comfort was dearly bought with loss of pureness1 and prosperity with loss of faith4 ,the watchwords of unity were forgotten by many4 ,but for the sore oppressions of which the ,mesopotamian was the first the tribes would have gradually lost all coherence and vigour and become like those poor tatters of races that dragged out an inglorious existence between ,jordan and the ,mediterranean plain4 ,yet it is with nations as with men2 those that have a reason of existence and the desire to realize it1 even at intervals1 may fall away into pitiful languor if corrupted by prosperity1 but when the need comes their spirit will be renewed4 ,while ,hivites1 ,perizzites and even ,amorites had practically nothing to live for1 but only cared to live1 the ,hebrews felt oppression and restraint in their inmost marrow4 ,what the faithful servants of ,god among them urged in vain the iron heel of ,cushan-rishathaim made them remember and realize that they had a ,god from ,whom they were basely departing1 a birthright they were selling for pottage4 ,in ,doubting ,castle1 under the chains of ,despair1 they bethought them of the ,almighty and ,his ancient promises1 they cried unto the ,lord4 ,and it was not the cry of an afflicted church2 ,israel was far from deserving that name4 ,rather was it the cry of a prodigal people scarcely daring to hope that the ,father would forgive and save4 ,nothing yet found in the records of ,babylon or ,assyria throws any light on the invasion of ,cushan-rishathaim1 whose name1 which seems to mean ,cushan of the ,two ,evil ,deeds1 may be taken to represent his character as the ,hebrews viewed it4 ,he was a king one of whose predecessors a few centuries before had given a daughter in marriage to the third ,amenophis of ,egypt1 and with her the ,aramaean religion to the ,nile valley4 ,at that time ,mesopotamia1 or ,aram-,naharaim1 was one of the greatest monarchies of western ,asia4 ,stretching along the ,euphrates from the ,khabour river towards ,carchemish and away to the highlands of ,armenia1 it embraced the district in which ,terah and ,abram first settled when the family migrated from ,ur of the ,chaldees4 ,in the days of the judges of ,israel1 however1 the glory of ,aram had faded4 ,the ,assyrians threatened its eastern frontier1 and about #acbe ,b4,c41 the date at which we have now arrived1 they laid waste the valley of the ,khabour4 ,we can suppose that the pressure of this rising empire was one cause of the expedition of ,cushan towards the western sea4 ,it remains a question1 however1 why the ,mesopotamian king should have been allowed to traverse the land of the ,hittites1 either by way of ,damascus or the desert route that led past ,tadmor1 in order to fall on the ,israelites2 and there is this other question1 ,what led him to think of attacking ,israel especially among the dwellers in ,canaan8 ,in pursuing these inquiries we have at least presumption to guide us4 ,carchemish on the ,euphrates was a great ,hittite fortress commanding the fords of that deep and treacherous river4 ,not far from it1 within the ,mesopotamian country1 was ,pethor1 which was at once a ,hittite and an ,aramaean town--,pethor the city of ,balaam with whom the ,hebrews had had to reckon shortly before they entered ,canaan4 ,now ,cushan-rishathaim1 reigning in this region1 occupied the middle ground between the ,hittites and ,assyria on the east1 also between them and ,babylon on the south-east2 and it is probable that he was in close alliance with the ,hittites4 ,suppose then that the ,hittite king1 who at first regarded the ,hebrews with indifference1 was now beginning to view them with distrust or to fear them as a people bent on their own ends1 not to be reckoned on for help against ,egypt1 and we can easily see that he might be more than ready to assist the ,mesopotamians in their attack on the tribes4 ,to this we may add a hint which is derived from ,balaam's connection with ,pethor1 and the kind of advice he was in the way of giving to those who consulted him4 ,does it not seem probable enough that some counsel of his survived his death and now guided the action of the king of ,aram8 ,balaam1 by profession a soothsayer1 was evidently a great political personage of his time1 foreseeing1 crafty and vindictive4 ,methods of his for suppressing ,israel1 the force of whose genius he fully recognised1 were perhaps sold to more than one kingly employer4 ,the land of the children of his people would almost certainly keep his counsel in mind and seek to avenge his death4 ,thus against ,israel particularly among the dwellers in ,canaan the arms of ,cushan-rishathaim would be directed1 and the ,hittites1 who scarcely found it needful to attack ,israel for their own safety1 would facilitate his march4 ,here then we may trace the revival of a feud which seemed to have died away fifty years before4 ,neither nations nor men can easily escape from the enmity they have incurred and the entanglements of their history4 ,when years have elapsed and strifes appear to have been buried in oblivion1 suddenly1 as if out of the grave1 the past is apt to arise and confront us1 sternly demanding the payment of its reckoning4 ,we once did another grievous wrong1 and now our fondly cherished belief that the man we injured had forgotten our injustice is completely dispelled4 ,the old anxiety1 the old terror breaks in afresh upon our lives4 ,or it was in doing our duty that we braved the enmity of evil-minded men and punished their crimes4 ,but though they have passed away their bitter hatred bequeathed to others still survives4 ,now the battle of justice and fidelity has to be fought over again1 and well is it for us if we are found ready in the strength of ,god4 ,and1 in another aspect1 how futile is the dream some indulge of getting rid of their history1 passing beyond the memory or resurrection of what has been4 ,shall ,divine forgiveness obliterate those deeds of which we have repented8 ,then the deeds being forgotten the forgiveness too would pass into oblivion and all the gain of faith and gratitude it brought would be lost4 ,do we expect never to retrace in memory the way we have travelled8 ,as well might we hope1 retaining our personality1 to become other men than we are4 ,the past1 good and evil1 remains and will remain1 that we may be kept humble and moved to ever-increasing thankfulness and fervour of soul4 ,we rise on stepping-stones of our dead selves to higher things1 and every forgotten incident by which moral education has been provided for must return to light4 ,the heaven we hope for is not to be one of forgetfulness1 but a state bright and free through remembrance of the grace that saved us at every stage and the circumstances of our salvation4 ,as yet we do not half know what ,god has done for us1 what ,his providence has been4 ,there must be a resurrection of old conflicts1 strifes1 defeats and victories in order that we may understand the grace which is to keep us safe for ever4 ,attacked by ,cushan of the ,two ,crimes the ,israelites were in evil case4 ,they had not the consciousness of ,divine support which sustained them once4 ,they had forsaken ,him whose presence in the camp made their arms victorious4 ,now they must face the consequences of their fathers' deeds without their fathers' heavenly courage4 ,had they still been a united nation full of faith and hope1 the armies of ,aram would have assailed them in vain4 ,but they were without the spirit which the crisis required4 ,for eight years the northern tribes had to bear a sore oppression1 soldiers quartered in their cities1 tribute exacted at the point of the sword1 their harvests enjoyed by others4 ,the stern lesson was taught them that ,canaan was to be no peaceful habitation for a people that renounced the purpose of its existence4 ,the struggle became more hopeless year by year1 the state of affairs more wretched4 ,so at last the tribes were driven by stress of persecution and calamity to call again on the name of ,god1 and some faint hope of succour broke like a misty morning over the land4 ,it was from the far south that help came in response to the piteous cry of the oppressed in the north2 the deliverer was ,othniel1 who has already appeared in the history4 ,after his marriage with ,achsah1 daughter of ,caleb1 we must suppose him living as quietly as possible in his south-lying farm1 there increasing in importance year by year till now he is a respected chief of the tribe of ,judah4 ,in frequent skirmishes with ,arab marauders from the wilderness he has distinguished himself1 maintaining the fame of his early exploit4 ,better still1 he is one of those who have kept the great traditions of the nation1 a man mindful of the law of ,god1 deriving strength of character from fellowship with the ,almighty4 ,the ,spirit of ,jehovah came upon him and he judged ,israel2 and he went out to war1 and ,jehovah delivered ,cushan-rishathaim king of ,mesopotamia into his hand4 ,he judged ,israel and went out to war4 ,significant is the order of these statements4 ,the judging of ,israel by this man1 on whom the ,spirit of ,jehovah was1 meant no doubt inquisition into the religious and moral state1 condemnation of the idolatry of the tribes and a restoration to some extent of the worship of ,god4 ,in no other way could the strength of ,israel be revived4 ,the people had to be healed before they could fight1 and the needed cure was spiritual4 ,hopeless invariably have been the efforts of oppressed peoples to deliver themselves unless some trust in a divine power has given them heart for the struggle4 ,when we see an army bow in prayer as one man before joining battle1 as the ,swiss did at ,morat and the ,scots at ,bannockburn1 we have faith in their spirit and courage1 for they are feeling their dependence in the ,supernatural4 ,othniel's first care was to suppress idolatry1 to teach ,israelites anew the forgotten name and law of ,god and their destiny as a nation4 ,well did he know that this alone would prepare the way for success4 ,then1 having gathered an army fit for his purpose1 he was not long in sweeping the garrisons of ,cushan out of the land4 ,judgment and then deliverance2 judgment of the mistakes and sins men have committed1 thereby bringing themselves into trouble2 conviction of sin and righteousness2 thereafter guidance and help that their feet may be set on a rock and their goings established--this is the right sequence4 ,that ,god should help the proud1 the self-sufficient out of their troubles in order that they may go on in pride and vainglory1 or that ,he should save the vicious from the consequences of their vice and leave them to persist in their iniquity1 would be no ,divine work4 ,the new mind and the right spirit must be put in men1 they must hear their condemnation1 lay it to heart and repent1 there must be a revival of holy purpose and aspiration first4 ,then the oppressors will be driven from the land1 the weight of trouble lifted from the soul4 ,othniel the first of the judges seems one of the best4 ,he is not a man of mere rude strength and dashing enterprise4 ,nor is he one who runs the risk of sudden elevation to power1 which few can stand4 ,a person of acknowledged honour and sagacity1 he sees the problem of the time and does his best to solve it4 ,he is almost unique in this1 that he appears without offence1 without shame4 ,and his judgeship is honourable to ,israel4 ,it points to a higher level of thought and greater seriousness among the tribes than in the century when ,jephthah and ,samson were the acknowledged heroes4 ,the nation had not lost its reverence for the great names and hopes of the exodus when it obeyed ,othniel and followed him to battle4 ,in modern times there would seem to be scarcely any understanding of the fact that no man can do real service as a political leader unless he is a fearer of ,god1 one who loves righteousness more than country1 and serves the ,eternal before any constituency4 ,sometimes a nation low enough in morality has been so far awake to its need and danger as to give the helm1 at least for a time1 to a servant of truth and righteousness and to follow where he leads4 ,but more commonly is it the case that political leaders are chosen anywhere rather than from the ranks of the spiritually earnest4 ,it is oratorical dash now1 and now the cleverness of the intriguer1 or the power of rank and wealth1 that catches popular favour and exalts a man in the state4 ,members of parliament1 cabinet ministers1 high officials need have no devoutness1 no spiritual seriousness or insight4 ,a nation generally seeks no such character in its legislators and is often content with less than decent morality4 ,is it then any wonder that politics are arid and government a series of errors8 ,we need men who have the true idea of liberty and will set nations nominally ,christian on the way of fulfilling their mission to the world4 ,when the people want a spiritual leader he will appear2 when they are ready to follow one of high and pure temper he will arise and show the way4 ,but the plain truth is that our chiefs in the state1 in society and business must be the men who represent the general opinion1 the general aim4 ,while we are in the main a worldly people1 the best guides1 those of spiritual mind1 will never be allowed to carry their plans4 ,and so we come back to the main lesson of the whole history1 that only as each citizen is thoughtful of ,god and of duty1 redeemed from selfishness and the world1 can there be a true commonwealth1 honourable government1 beneficent civilization4 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,dagger ,,and ,,the ,,ox-,,goad4 ,,judges iii4 #ab-ca4 ,the world is served by men of very diverse kinds1 and we pass now to one who is in strong contrast to ,israel's first deliverer4 ,othniel the judge without reproach is followed by ,ehud the regicide4 ,the long peace which the country enjoyed after the ,mesopotamian army was driven out allowed a return of prosperity and with it a relaxing of spiritual tone4 ,again there was disorganization2 again the ,hebrew strength decayed and watchful enemies found an opportunity4 ,the ,moabites led the attack1 and their king was at the head of a federation including the ,ammonites and the ,amalekites4 ,it was this coalition the power of which ,ehud had to break4 ,we can only surmise the causes of the assault made on the ,hebrews west of ,jordan by those peoples on the east4 ,when the ,israelites first appeared on the plains of the ,jordan under the shadow of the mountains of ,moab1 before crossing into ,palestine proper1 ,balak king of ,moab viewed with alarm this new nation which was advancing to seek a settlement so near his territory4 ,it was then he sent to ,pethor for ,balaam1 in the hope that by a powerful incantation or curse the great diviner would blight the ,hebrew armies and make them an easy prey4 ,notwithstanding this scheme1 which even to the ,israelites did not appear contemptible1 ,moses so far respected the relationship between ,moab and ,israel that he did not attack ,balak's kingdom1 although at the time it had been weakened by an unsuccessful contest with the ,amorites from ,gilead4 ,moab to the south and ,ammon to the north were both left unharmed4 ,but to ,reuben1 ,gad and the half-tribe of ,manasseh was allotted the land from which the ,amorites had been completely driven1 a region extending from the frontier of ,moab on the south away towards ,hermon and the ,argob2 and these tribes entering vigorously on their possession could not long remain at peace with the bordering races4 ,we can easily see how their encroachments1 their growing strength would vex ,moab and ,ammon and drive them to plans of retaliation4 ,balaam had not cursed ,israel2 he had blessed it1 and the blessing was being fulfilled4 ,it seemed to be decreed that all other peoples east of ,jordan were to be overborne by the descendants of ,abraham2 yet one fear wrought against another1 and the hour of ,israel's security was seized as a fit occasion for a vigorous sally across the river4 ,a desperate effort was made to strike at the heart of the ,hebrew power and assert the claims of ,chemosh to be a greater god than ,he ,who was reverenced at the sanctuary of the ark4 ,or ,amalek may have instigated the attack4 ,away in the ,sinaitic wilderness there stood an altar which ,moses had named ,jehovah-,nissi1 ,jehovah is my banner1 and that altar commemorated a great victory gained by ,israel over the ,amalekites4 ,the greater part of a century had gone by since the battle1 but the memory of defeat lingers long with the ,arab--and these ,amalekites were pure ,arabs1 savage1 vindictive1 cherishing their cause of war1 waiting their revenge4 ,we know the command in ,deuteronomy1 ,remember what ,amalek did unto thee by the way1 when ye were come forth out of ,egypt4 ,how he met thee by the way and smote the hindmost of thee1 even all that were feeble behind thee4 ,thou shalt blot out the remembrance of ,amalek from under heaven4 ,thou shalt not forget it4 ,we may be sure that ,reuben and ,gad did not forget the dastardly attack2 we may be sure that ,amalek did not forget the day of ,rephidim4 ,if ,moab was not of itself disposed to cross the ,jordan and fall on ,benjamin and ,ephraim1 there was the urgency of ,amalek1 the proffered help of that fiery people to ripen decision4 ,the ferment of war rose4 ,moab1 having walled cities to form a basis of operations1 took the lead4 ,the confederates marched northward along the ,dead ,sea1 seized the ford near ,gilgal and mastering the plain of ,jericho pushed their conquest beyond the hills4 ,nor was it a temporary advance4 ,they established themselves4 ,eighteen years afterwards we find ,eglon1 in his palace or castle near the ,city of ,palm ,trees1 claiming authority over all ,israel4 ,so the ,hebrew tribes1 partly by reason of an old strife not forgotten1 partly because they have gone on vigorously adding to their territory1 again suffer assault and are brought under oppression1 and the coalition against them reminds us of confederacies that are in full force to-day4 ,ammon and ,moab are united against the church of ,christ1 and ,amalek joins in the attack4 ,the parable is one1 we shall say1 of the opposition the church is constantly provoking1 constantly experiencing1 not entirely to its own credit4 ,allowing that1 in the main1 ,christianity is truly and honestly aggressive1 that on its march to the heights it does straight battle with the enemies of mankind and thus awakens the hatred of bandit ,amaleks1 yet this is not a complete account of the assaults which are renewed century after century4 ,must it not be owned that those who pass for ,christians often go beyond the lines and methods of their proper warfare and are found on fields where the weapons are carnal and the fight is not the good fight of faith8 ,there is a strain of modern talk which defends the worldly ambition of ,christian men1 sounding very hollow and insincere to all excepting those whose interest and illusion it is to think it heavenly4 ,we hear from a thousand tongues the gospel of ,christianized commerce1 of sanctified success1 of making business a religion4 ,in the press and hurry of competition there is a less and a greater conscientiousness4 ,let men have it in the greater degree1 let them be less anxious for speedy success than some they know1 not quite so eager to add factory to factory and field to field1 more careful to interpret bargains fairly and do good work2 let them figure often as benefactors and be free with their money to the church1 and the residue of worldly ambition is glorified1 being sufficient1 perhaps1 to develop a merchant prince1 a railway king1 a millionaire of the kind the age adores4 ,thus it comes to pass that the domain which appeared safe enough from the followers of ,him who sought no power in the earthly range is invaded by men who reckon all their business efforts privileged under the laws of heaven1 and every advantage they win a ,divine plan for wresting money from the hands of the devil4 ,now it is upon ,christianity as approving all this that the ,moabites and ,ammonites of our day are falling4 ,they are frankly worshippers of ,chemosh and ,milcom1 not of ,jehovah2 they believe in wealth1 their all is staked on the earthly prosperity and enjoyment for which they strive4 ,it is too bad1 they feel1 to have their sphere and hopes curtailed by men who profess no respect for the world1 no desire for its glory but a constant preference for things unseen2 they writhe when they consider the triumphs wrested from them by rivals who count success an answer to prayer and believe themselves favourites of ,god4 ,or the frank heathen finds that in business a man professing ,christianity in the customary way is as little cumbered as himself by any disdain of tarnished profits and smart devices4 ,what else can be expected but that1 driven back and back by the energy of ,christians so called1 the others shall begin to think ,christianity itself largely a pretence8 ,do we wonder to see the revolution in ,france hurling its forces not only against wealth and rank1 but also against the religion identified with wealth and rank8 ,do we wonder to see in our day socialism1 which girds at great fortunes as an insult to humanity1 joining hands with agnosticism and secularism to make assault on the church8 ,it is precisely what might be looked for2 nay1 more1 the opposition will go on till ,christian profession is purged of hypocrisy and ,christian practice is harmonized with the law of ,christ4 ,not the push1 not the equivocal success of one person here and there is it that creates doubt of ,christianity and provokes antagonism1 but the whole systems of society and business in so-called ,christian lands1 and even the conduct of affairs within the church1 the strain of feeling there4 ,for in the church as without it wealth and rank are important in themselves1 and make some important who have little or no other claim to respect4 ,in the church as without it methods are adopted that involve large outlay and a constant need for the support of the wealthy2 in the church as without it life depends too much on the abundance of the things that are possessed4 ,and1 in the not unfair judgment of those who stand outside1 all this proceeds from a secret doubt of ,christ's law and authority1 which more than excuses their own denial4 ,the strifes of the day1 even those that turn on the ,godhead of ,christ and the inspiration of the ,bible1 as well as on the divine claim of the church1 are not due solely to hatred of truth and the depravity of the human heart4 ,they have more reason than the church has yet confessed4 ,christianity in its practical and speculative aspects is one2 it cannot be a creed unless it is a life4 ,it is essentially a life not conformed to this world1 but transformed1 redeemed4 ,our faith will stand secure from all attacks1 vindicated as a supernatural revelation and inspiration1 when the whole of church life and ,christian endeavour shall rise above the earthly and be manifest everywhere as a fervent striving for the spiritual and eternal4 ,we have been assuming the unfaithfulness of ,israel to its duty and vocation4 ,the people of ,god1 instead of commending ,his faith by their neighbourliness and generosity1 were1 we fear1 too often proud and selfish1 seeking their own things not the well-being of others1 sending no attractive light into the heathenism around4 ,moab was akin to the ,hebrews and in many respects similar in character4 ,when we come to the ,book of ,ruth we find a certain intercourse between the two4 ,ammon1 more unsettled and barbarous1 was of the same stock4 ,israel1 giving nothing to these peoples1 but taking all she could from them1 provoked antagonism all the more bitter that they were of kin to her1 and they felt no scruple when their opportunity came4 ,not only had the ,israelites to suffer for their failure1 but ,moab and ,ammon also4 ,the wrong beginning of the relations between them was never undone4 ,moab and ,ammon went on worshipping their own gods1 enemies of ,israel to the last4 ,ehud appears a deliverer4 ,he was a ,benjamite1 a man left-handed2 he chose his own method of action1 and it was to strike directly at the ,moabite king4 ,eager words regarding the shamefulness of ,israel's subjection had perhaps already marked him as a leader1 and it may have been with the expectation that he would do a bold deed that he was chosen to bear the periodical tribute on this occasion to ,eglon's palace4 ,girding a long dagger under his garment on his right thigh1 where if found it might appear to be worn without evil intent1 he set out with some attendants to the ,moabite head-quarters4 ,the narrative is so vivid that we seem able to follow ,ehud step by step4 ,he has gone from the neighbourhood of ,jebus to ,jericho1 perhaps by the road in which the scene of our ,lord's parable of the ,good ,samaritan was long afterwards laid4 ,having delivered the tribute into the hands of ,eglon he goes southward a few miles to the sculptured stones at ,gilgal1 where possibly some outpost of the ,moabites kept guard4 ,there he leaves his attendants1 and swiftly retracing his steps to the palace craves a private interview with the king and announces a message from ,god1 at ,whose name ,eglon respectfully rises from his seat4 ,one flash of the dagger and the bloody deed is done4 ,leaving the king's dead body there in the chamber1 ,ehud bolts the door and boldly passes the attendants1 then quickening his pace is soon beyond ,gilgal and away by another route through the steep hills to the mountains of ,ephraim4 ,meanwhile the murder is discovered and there is confusion at the palace4 ,no one being at hand to give orders1 the garrison is unprepared to act1 and as ,ehud loses no time in gathering a band and returning to finish his work1 the fords of ,jordan are taken before the ,moabites can cross to the eastern side4 ,they are caught1 and the defeat is so decisive that ,israel is free again for fourscore years4 ,now this deed of ,ehud's was clearly a case of assassination1 and as such we have to consider it4 ,the crime is one which stinks in our nostrils because it is associated with treachery and cowardice1 the basest revenge or the most undisciplined passion4 ,but if we go back to times of ruder morality and regard the circumstances of such a people as ,israel1 scattered and oppressed1 waiting for a sign of bold energy that may give it new heart1 we can easily see that one who chose to act as ,ehud did would by no means incur the reprobation we now attach to the assassin4 ,to go no farther back than the ,french ,revolution and the deed of ,charlotte ,corday1 we cannot reckon her among the basest--that woman of the beautiful still countenance who believed her task to be the duty of a patriot4 ,nevertheless1 it is not possible to make a complete defence of ,ehud4 ,his act was treacherous4 ,the man he slew was a legitimate king1 and is not said to have done his ruling ill4 ,even allowing for the period1 there was something peculiarly detestable in striking one to death who stood up reverently expecting a message from ,god4 ,yet ,ehud may have thoroughly believed himself to be a ,divine instrument4 ,this too we see1 that the great just providence of the ,almighty is not impeached by such an act4 ,no word in the narrative justifies assassination2 but1 being done1 place is found for it as a thing overruled for good in the development of ,israel's history4 ,man has no defence for his treachery and violence1 yet in the process of events the barbarous deed1 the fierce crime1 are shown to be under the control of the ,wisdom that guides all men and things4 ,and here the issue which justifies ,divine providence1 though it does not purge the criminal1 is clear4 ,for through ,ehud a genuine deliverance was wrought for ,israel4 ,the nation1 curbed by aliens1 overborne by an idolatrous power1 was free once more to move toward the great spiritual end for which it had been created4 ,we might be disposed to say that on the whole ,israel made nothing of freedom1 that the faith of ,god revived and the heart of the people became devout in times of oppression rather than of liberty4 ,in a sense it was so1 and the story of this people is the story of all1 for men go to sleep over their best1 they misuse freedom1 they forget why they are free4 ,yet every eulogy of freedom is true4 ,man must even have the power of misusing it if he is to arrive at the best4 ,it is in liberty that manhood is nursed1 and therefore in liberty that religion matures4 ,autocratic laws mean tyranny1 and tyranny denies the soul its responsibility to justice1 truth1 and ,god4 ,mind and conscience held from their high office1 responsibility to the greatest overborne by some tyrant hand that may seem beneficent1 the soul has no space1 faith no room to breathe2 man is kept from the spontaneity and gladness of his proper life4 ,so we have to win liberty in hard struggle and know ourselves free in order that we may belong completely to ,god4 ,see how life advances6 ,god deals with the human race according to a vast plan of discipline leading to heights which at first appear inaccessible4 ,freedom is one of the first of these1 and only by way of it are the higher summits reached4 ,during the long ages of dark and weary struggle1 which seem to many but a fruitless martyrdom1 the ,divine idea was interfused with all the strife4 ,not one blind stroke1 not one agony of the craving soul was wasted4 ,in all the wisdom of ,god wrought for man1 through man's pathetic feebleness or most daring achievement4 ,so out of the chaos of the gloomy valleys a highway of order was raised by which the race should mount to ,freedom and thence to ,faith4 ,we see it in the history of nations1 those that have led the way and those that are following4 ,the possessors of clear faith have won it in liberty4 ,in ,switzerland1 in ,scotland1 in ,england1 the order has been1 first civil freedom1 then ,christian thought and vigour4 ,wallace and ,bruce prepare the way for ,knox2 ,boadicea1 ,hereward1 the ,barons of ,magna ,charta for ,wycliffe and the ,reformation2 the men of the ,swiss ,cantons who won ,morgarten and routed ,charles the ,bold were the forerunners of ,zwingli and ,farel4 ,israel1 too1 had its heroes of freedom2 and even those who1 like ,ehud and ,samson1 did little or nothing for faith and struck wildly1 wrongly for their country1 did yet choose consciously to serve their people and were helpers of a righteousness and a holy purpose they did not know4 ,when all has been said against them it remains true that the freedom they brought to ,israel was a ,divine gift4 ,it is to be remarked that ,ehud did not judge ,israel4 ,he was a deliverer1 but nowise fitted to exercise high office in the name of ,god4 ,in some way not made clear in the narrative he had become the centre of the resolute spirits of ,benjamin and was looked to by them to find an opportunity of striking at the oppressors4 ,his calling1 we may say1 was human1 not ,divine2 it was limited1 not national2 and he was not a man who could rise to any high thought of leadership4 ,the heads of tribes1 ingloriously paying tribute to the ,moabites1 may have scoffed at him as of no account4 ,yet he did what they supposed impossible4 ,the little rising grew with the rapidity of a thunder-cloud1 and1 when it passed1 ,moab1 smitten as by a lightning flash1 no longer overshadowed ,israel4 ,as for the deliverer1 his work having been done apparently in the course of a few days1 he is seen no more in the history4 ,while he lived1 however1 his name was a terror to the enemies of ,israel1 for what he had effected once he might be depended upon to do again if necessity arose4 ,and the land had rest4 ,here is an example of what is possible to the obscure whose qualifications are not great1 but who have spirit and firmness1 who are not afraid of dangers and privations on the way to an end worth gaining1 be it the deliverance of their country1 the freedom or purity of their church1 or the rousing of society against a flagrant wrong4 ,do the rich and powerful angrily refuse their patronage8 ,do they find much to say about the impossibility of doing anything1 the evil of disturbing people's minds1 the duty of submission to ,providence and to the advice of wise and learned persons8 ,those who see the time and place for acting1 who hear the clarion-call of duty1 will not be deterred4 ,armed for their task with fit weapons--the two-edged dagger of truth for the corpulent lie1 the penetrating stone of a just scorn for the forehead of arrogance1 they have the right to go forth1 the right to succeed1 though probably when the stroke has told many will be heard lamenting its untimeliness and proving the dangerous indiscretion of ,ehud and all who followed him4 ,in the same line another type is represented by ,shamgar1 son of ,anath1 the man of the ox-goad1 who considered not whether he was equipped for attacking ,philistines1 but turned on them from the plough1 his blood leaping in him with swift indignation4 ,the instrument of his assault was not made for the use to which it was put3 the power lay in the arm that wielded the goad and the fearless will of the man who struck for his own birthright1 freedom1--for ,israel's birthright1 to be the servant of no other race4 ,undoubtedly it is well that1 in any efforts made for the church or for society1 men should consider how they are to act and should furnish themselves in the best manner for the work that is to be done4 ,no outfit of knowledge1 skill1 experience is to be despised4 ,a man does not serve the world better in ignorance than in learning1 in bluntness than in refinement4 ,but the serious danger for such an age as our own is that strength may be frittered away and zeal expended in the mere preparation of weapons1 in the mere exercise before the war begins4 ,the important points at issue are apt to be lost sight of1 and the vital distinctions on which the whole battle turns to fade away in an atmosphere of compromise4 ,there are those who1 to begin1 are ,israelites indeed1 with a keen sense of their nationality1 of the urgency of certain great thoughts and the example of heroes4 ,their nationality becomes less and less to them as they touch the world2 the great thoughts begin to seem parochial and antiquated2 the heroes are found to have been mistaken1 their names cease to thrill4 ,the man now sees nothing to fight for1 he cares only to go on perfecting his equipment4 ,let us do him justice4 ,it is not the toil of the conflict he shrinks from1 but the rudeness of it1 the dust and heat of warfare4 ,he is no voluntary now1 for he values the dignity of a ,state ,church and feels the charm of ancient traditions4 ,he is not a good churchman1 for he will not be pledged to any creed or opposed to any school4 ,he is rarely seen on any political platform1 for he hates the watchwords of party4 ,and this is the least of it4 ,he is a man without a cause1 a believer without a faith1 a ,christian without a stroke of brave work to do in the world4 ,we love his mildness2 we admire his mental possessions1 his broad sympathies4 ,but when we are throbbing with indignation he is too calm2 when we catch at the ox-goad and fly at the enemy we know that he disdains our weapon and is affronted by our fire4 ,better1 if it must be so1 the rustic from the plough1 the herdsman from the hill-side2 better far he of the camel's hair garment and the keen cry1 ,repent1 repent6 ,israel1 then1 appears in these stories of her iron age as the cradle of the manhood of the modern world2 in ,israel the true standard was lifted up for the people4 ,it is liberty put to a noble use that is the mark of manhood1 and in ,israel's history the idea of responsibility to the one living and true ,god takes form and clearness as that alone which fulfils and justifies liberty4 ,israel has a ,god ,whose will man must do1 and for the doing of it he is free4 ,if at the outset the vigour which this thought of ,god infused into the ,hebrew struggle for independence was tempestuous2 if ,jehovah was seen not in the majesty of eternal justice and sublime magnanimity1 not as the ,friend of all1 but as the unseen ,king of a favoured people1--still1 as freedom came1 there came with it always1 in some prophetic word1 some ,divine psalm1 a more living conception of ,god as gracious1 merciful1 holy1 unchangeable2 and notwithstanding all lapses the ,hebrew was a man of higher quality than those about him4 ,you stand by the cradle and see no promise1 nothing to attract4 ,but give the faith which is here in infancy time to assert itself1 give time for the vision of ,god to enlarge1 and the finest type of human life will arise and establish itself1 a type possible in no other way4 ,egypt with its long and wonderful history gives nothing to the moral life of the new world1 for it produces no men4 ,its kings are despots1 tomb-builders1 its people contented or discontented slaves4 ,babylon and ,nineveh are names that dwarf ,israel's into insignificance1 but their power passes and leaves only some monuments for the antiquarian1 some corroborations of a ,hebrew record4 ,egypt and ,chaldea1 ,assyria and ,persia never reached through freedom the idea of man's proper life1 never rose to the sense of that sublime calling or bowed in that profound adoration of the ,holy ,one which made the ,israelite1 rude fanatic as he often was1 a man and a father of men4 ,from ,egypt1 from ,babylon1--yea1 from ,greece and ,rome came no redeemer of mankind1 for they grew bewildered in the search after the chief end of existence and fell before they found it4 ,in the prepared people it was1 the people cramped in the narrow land between the ,syrian desert and the sea1 that the form of the future ,man was seen1 and there1 where the human spirit felt at least1 if it did not realise its dignity and place1 the ,messiah was born4 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,sibyl ,,of ,,mount ,,ephraim4 ,,judges iv4 ,there arises now in ,israel a prophetess1 one of those rare women whose souls burn with enthusiasm and holy purpose when the hearts of men are abject and despondent2 and to ,deborah it is given to make a nation hear her call4 ,of prophetesses the world has seen but few2 generally the woman has her work of teaching and administering justice in the name of ,god within a domestic circle and finds all her energy needed there4 ,but queens have reigned with firm nerve and clear sagacity in many a land1 and now and again a woman's voice has struck the deep note which has roused a nation to its duty4 ,such in the old ,hebrew days was ,deborah1 wife of ,lappidoth4 ,it was a time of miserable thraldom in ,israel when she became aware of her destiny and began the sacred enterprise of her life4 ,from ,hazor in the north near the waters of ,merom ,israel was ruled by ,jabin1 king of the ,canaanites--not the first of the name1 for ,joshua had before defeated one ,jabin king of ,hazor1 and slain him4 ,during the peace that followed ,ehud's triumph over ,moab the ,hebrews1 busy with worldly affairs1 failed to estimate a danger which year by year became more definite and pressing--the rise of the ancient strongholds of ,canaan and their chiefs to new activity and power4 ,little by little the cities ,joshua destroyed were rebuilt1 re-fortified and made centres of warlike preparation4 ,the old inhabitants of the land recovered spirit1 while ,israel lapsed into foolish confidence4 ,at ,harosheth of the ,gentiles1 under the shadow of ,carmel1 near the mouth of the ,kishon1 armourers were busy forging weapons and building chariots of iron4 ,the ,hebrews did not know what was going on1 or missed the purpose that should have thrust itself on their notice4 ,then came the sudden rush of the chariots and the onset of the ,canaanite troops1 fierce1 irresistible4 ,israel was subdued and bowed to a yoke all the more galling that it was a people they had conquered and perhaps despised that now rode over them4 ,in the north at least the ,hebrews were kept in servitude for twenty years1 suffered to remain in the land but compelled to pay heavy tribute1 many of them1 it is likely1 enslaved or allowed but a nominal independence4 ,deborah's song vividly describes the condition of things in her country4 ,shamgar had made a clearance on the ,philistine border and kept his footing as a leader1 but elsewhere the land was so swept by ,canaanite spoilers that the highways were unused and ,hebrew travellers kept to the tortuous and difficult by-paths down in the glens or among the mountains4 ,there was war in all the gates1 but in ,israelite dwellings neither shield nor spear4 ,defenceless and crushed the people lay crying to gods that could not save1 turning ever to new gods in strange despair1 the national state far worse than when ,cushan's army held the land or when ,eglon ruled from the ,city of ,palm ,trees4 ,born before this time of oppression ,deborah spent her childhood and youth in some village of ,issachar1 her home a rude hut covered with brushwood and clay1 like those which are still seen by travellers4 ,her parents1 we must believe1 had more religious feeling than was common among ,hebrews of the time4 ,they would speak to her of the name and law of ,jehovah1 and she1 we doubt not1 loved to hear4 ,but with the exception of brief oral traditions fitfully repeated and an example of reverence for sacred times and duties1 a mere girl would have no advantages4 ,even if her father was chief of a village her lot would be hard and monotonous1 as she aided in the work of the household and went morning and evening to fetch water from the spring or tended a few sheep on the hill-side4 ,while she was yet young the ,canaanite oppression began1 and she with others felt the tyranny and the shame4 ,the soldiers of ,jabin came and lived at free quarters among the villagers1 wasting their property4 ,the crops were perhaps assessed1 as they are at the present day in ,syria1 before they were reaped1 and sometimes half or even more would be swept away by the remorseless collector of tribute4 ,the people turned thriftless and sullen4 ,they had nothing to gain by exerting themselves when the soldiers and the tax-gatherer were ready to exact so much the more1 leaving them still in poverty4 ,now and again there might be a riot4 ,maddened by insults and extortion the men of the village would make a stand4 ,but without weapons1 without a leader1 what could they effect8 ,the ,canaanite troops were upon them2 some were killed1 others carried away1 and things became worse than before4 ,there was not much prospect at such a time for a ,hebrew maiden whose lot it seemed to be1 while yet scarcely out of her childhood1 to be married like the rest and sink into a household drudge1 toiling for a husband who in his turn laboured for the oppressor4 ,but there was a way then1 as there is always a way for the high-spirited to save life from bareness and desolation2 and ,deborah found her path4 ,her soul went forth to her people1 and their sad state moved her to something more than a woman's grief and rebellion4 ,as years went by the traditions of the past revealed their meaning to her1 deeper and larger thoughts came1 a beginning of hope for the tribes so downcast and weary4 ,once they had swept victoriously through the land and smitten that very fortress which again overshadowed all the north4 ,it was in the name of ,jehovah and by ,his help that ,israel then triumphed4 ,clearly the need was for a new covenant with ,him2 the people must repent and return to the ,lord4 ,did ,deborah put this before her parents1 her husband8 ,doubtless they agreed with her1 but could see no way of action1 no opportunity for such as they4 ,as she spoke more and more eagerly1 as she ventured to urge the men of her village to bestir themselves1 perhaps a few were moved1 but the rest heard carelessly or derided her4 ,we can imagine ,deborah in that time of trial growing up into tall and striking womanhood1 watching with indignation many a scene in which her people showed a craven fear or joined slavishly in heathen revels4 ,as she spoke and saw her words burn the hearts of some to whom they were spoken1 the sense of power and duty came4 ,in vain she looked for a prophet1 a leader1 a man of ,jehovah to rekindle a flame in the nation's heart4 ,a flame6 ,it was in her own soul1 she might wake it in other souls2 ,jehovah helping her she would4 ,but when in her native tribe the brave woman began to urge with prophetic eloquence the return to ,god and to preach a holy war her time of peril came4 ,issachar lay completely under the survey of ,jabin's officers1 overawed by his chariots4 ,and one who would deliver a servile people had need to fear treachery4 ,issachar was a strong ass couching down between the sheepfolds2 he had bowed his shoulder to bear and become a servant under task-work4 ,as her purpose matured she had to seek a place of safety and influence1 and passing southward she found it in some retired spot among the hills between ,bethel and ,ramah1 some nook of that valley which1 beginning near ,ai1 curves eastward and narrows at ,geba to a rocky gorge with precipices eight hundred feet high1--the ,valley of ,achor1 of which ,hosea long afterwards said that it should be a door of hope4 ,here1 under a palm tree1 the landmark of her tent1 she began to prophesy and judge and grow to spiritual power among the tribes4 ,it was a new thing in ,israel for a woman to speak in the name of ,god4 ,her utterances had no doubt something of a sibyllic strain1 and the deep or wild notes of her voice pleading for ,jehovah or raised in passionate warning against idolatry touched the finest chords of the ,hebrew soul4 ,in her rapture she saw the ,holy ,one coming in majesty from the southern desert where ,horeb reared its sacred peak2 or again1 looking into the future1 foretold ,his exaltation in proud triumph over the gods of ,canaan1 ,his people free once more1 their land purged of every heathen taint4 ,so gradually her place of abode became a rendezvous of the tribes1 a seat of justice1 a shrine of reviving hope4 ,those who longed for righteous administration came to her2 those who were fearers of ,jehovah gathered about her4 ,gaining wisdom she was able to represent to a rude age the majesty as well as the purity of ,divine law1 to establish order as well as to communicate enthusiasm4 ,the people felt that sagacity like hers and a spirit so sanguine and fearless must be the gift of ,jehovah2 it was the inspiration of the ,almighty that gave her understanding4 ,deborah's prophetical utterances are not to be tried by the standard of the ,isaian age4 ,so tested some of her judgments might fail1 some of her visions lose their charm4 ,she had no clear outlook to those great principles which the later prophets more or less fully proclaimed4 ,her education and circumstances and her intellectual power determined the degree in which she could receive ,divine illumination4 ,one woman before her is honoured with the name of prophetess1 ,miriam1 the sister of ,moses and ,aaron1 who led the refrain of the song of triumph at the ,red ,sea4 ,miriam's gift appears limited to the gratitude and ecstasy of one day of deliverance2 and when afterwards on the strength of her share in the enthusiasm of the ,exodus she ventured along with ,aaron to claim equality with ,moses1 a terrible rebuke checked her presumption4 ,comparing ,miriam and ,deborah1 we find as great an advance from the one to the other as from ,deborah to ,amos or ,hosea4 ,but this only shows that the inspiration of one mind1 intense and ample for that mind1 may come far short of the inspiration of another4 ,god does not give every prophet the same insight as ,moses1 for the rare and splendid genius of ,moses was capable of an illumination which very few in any following age have been able to receive4 ,even as among the ,apostles of ,christ ,st4 ,peter shows occasionally a lapse from the highest ,christian judgment for which ,st4 ,paul has to take him to task1 and yet does not cease to be inspired1 so ,deborah is not to be denied the ,divine gift though her song is coloured by an all too human exultation over a fallen enemy4 ,it is simply impossible to account for this new beginning in ,israel's history without a heavenly impulse2 and through ,deborah unquestionably that impulse came4 ,others were turning to ,god1 but she broke the dark spell which held the tribes and taught them afresh how to believe and pray4 ,under her palm tree there were solemn searchings of heart1 and when the head men of the clans gathered there1 travelling across the mountains of ,ephraim or up the wadies from the fords of ,jordan1 it was first to humble themselves for the sin of idolatry1 and then to undertake with sacred oaths and vows the serious work which fell to them in ,israel's time of need4 ,not all came to that solemn rendezvous4 ,when is such a gathering completely representative8 ,of ,judah and ,simeon we hear nothing4 ,perhaps they had their own troubles with the wandering tribes of the desert2 perhaps they did not suffer as the others from ,canaanite tyranny and therefore kept aloof4 ,reuben on the other side ,jordan wavered1 ,manasseh made no sign of sympathy2 ,asher1 held in check by the fortress of ,hazor and the garrison of ,harosheth1 chose the safe part of inaction4 ,dan was busy trying to establish a maritime trade4 ,but ,ephraim and ,benjamin1 ,zebulun and ,naphtali were forward in the revival1 and proudly the record is made on behalf of her native tribe1 the princes of ,issachar were with ,deborah4 ,months passed2 the movement grew steadily1 there was a stirring among the dry bones1 a resurrection of hope and purpose4 ,and with all the care used this could not be hid from the ,canaanites4 ,for doubtless in not a few ,israelite homes heathen wives and half-heathen children would be apt to spy and betray4 ,it goes hardly with men if they have bound themselves by any tie to those who will not only fail in sympathy when religion makes demands1 but will do their utmost to thwart serious ambitions and resolves4 ,a man is terribly compromised who has pledged himself to a woman of earthly mind1 ruled by idolatries of time and sense4 ,he has undertaken duties to her which a quickened sense of ,divine law will make him feel the more2 she has her claim upon his life1 and there is nothing to wonder at if she insists upon her view1 to his spiritual disadvantage and peril4 ,in the time of national quickening and renewed thoughtfulness many a ,hebrew discovered the folly of which he had been guilty in joining hands with women who were on the side of the ,baalim and resented any sacrifice made for ,jehovah4 ,here we find the explanation of much lukewarmness1 indifference to the great enterprises of the church and withholding of service by those who make some profession of being on the ,lord's side4 ,the entanglements of domestic relationship have far more to do with failure in religious duty than is commonly supposed4 ,amid difficulty and discouragement enough1 with slender resources1 the hope of ,israel resting upon her1 ,deborah's heart did not fail nor her head for affairs4 ,when the critical point was reached of requiring a general for the war she had already fixed upon the man4 ,at ,kadesh-,naphtali1 almost in sight of ,jabin's fortress1 on a hill overlooking the waters of ,merom1 ninety miles to the north1 dwelt ,barak the son of ,abinoam4 ,the neighbourhood of the ,canaanite capital and daily evidence of its growing power made ,barak ready for any enterprise which had in it good promise of success1 and he had better qualifications than mere resentment against injustice and eager hatred of the ,canaanite oppression4 ,already known in ,zebulun and ,naphtali as a man of bold temper and sagacity1 he was in a position to gather an army corps out of those tribes--the main strength of the force on which ,deborah relied for the approaching struggle4 ,better still1 he was a fearer of ,god4 ,to ,kadesh-,naphtali the prophetess sent for the chosen leader of the troops of ,israel1 addressing to him the call of ,jehovah3 ,hath not the ,lord commanded thee saying1 ,go and draw towards ,mount ,tabor--that is1 ,bring by detachments quietly from the different cities towards ,mount ,tabor--ten thousand men of ,naphtali and ,zebulun8 ,the rendezvous of ,sisera's host was ,harosheth of the ,gentiles1 in the defile at the western extremity of the valley of ,megiddo1 where ,kishon breaks through to the plain of ,acre4 ,tabor overlooked from the north-east the same wide strath which was to be the field where the chariots and the multitude should be delivered into ,barak's hand4 ,not doubting the word of ,god1 ,barak sees a difficulty4 ,for himself he has no prophetic gift2 he is ready to fight1 but this is to be a sacred war4 ,from the very first he would have the men gather with the clear understanding that it is for religion as much as for freedom they are taking arms2 and how may this be secured8 ,only if ,deborah will go with him through the country proclaiming the ,divine summons and promise of victory4 ,he is very decided on the point4 ,if thou wilt go with me1 then ,i will go3 but if thou wilt not go with me1 ,i will not go4 ,deborah agrees1 though she would fain have left this matter entirely to men4 ,she warns him that the expedition will not be to his honour1 since ,jehovah will give ,sisera into the hand of a woman4 ,against her will she takes part in the military preparations4 ,there is no need to find in ,deborah's words a prophecy of the deed of ,jael4 ,it is a grossly untrue taunt that the murder of ,sisera is the central point of the whole narrative4 ,when ,deborah says1 ,the ,lord shall sell ,sisera into the hand of a woman1 the reference plainly is1 as ,josephus makes it1 to the position into which ,deborah herself was forced as the chief person in the campaign4 ,with great wisdom and the truest courage she would have limited her own sphere4 ,with equal wisdom and equal courage ,barak understood how the zeal of the people was to be maintained4 ,there was a friendly contest1 and in the end the right way was found1 for unquestionably ,deborah was the genius of the movement4 ,together they went to ,kedesh1--not ,kadesh-,naphtali in the far north1 but ,kedesh on the shore of the ,sea of ,galilee1 some twelve miles from ,tabor4#d ,from that as a centre1 journeying by secluded ways through the northern districts1 often perhaps by night1 ,deborah and ,barak went together rousing the enthusiasm of the people1 until the shores of the lake and the valleys running down to it were quietly occupied by thousands of armed men4 #d ,see ,conder's ,tent ,work in ,palestine4 ,the clans are at length gathered2 the whole force marches from ,kedesh to the foot of ,tabor to give battle4 ,and now ,sisera1 fully equipped1 moves out of ,harosheth along the course of the ,kishon1 marching well beneath the ridge of ,carmel1 his chariots thundering in the van4 ,near ,taanach he orders his front to be formed to the north1 crosses the ,kishon and advances on the ,hebrews who by this time are visible beyond the slope of ,moreh4 ,the tremendous moment has come4 ,up1 cries ,deborah1 for this is the day in which the ,lord hath delivered ,sisera into thine hand4 ,is not the ,lord gone out before thee8 ,she has waited till the troops of ,sisera are entangled among the streams which here1 from various directions1 converge to the river ,kishon1 now swollen with rain and difficult to cross4 ,barak1 the ,lightning ,chief1 leads his men impetuously down into the plain1 keeping near the shoulder of ,moreh where the ground is not broken by the streams2 and with the fall of evening he begins the attack4 ,the chariots have crossed the ,kishon but are still struggling in the swamps and marshes4 ,they are assailed with vehemence and forced back1 and in the waning light all is confusion4 ,the ,kishon sweeps away many of the ,canaanite host1 the rest make a stand by ,taanach and further on by the waters of ,megiddo4 ,the ,hebrews find a higher ford and following the south bank of the river are upon the foe again4 ,it is a ,november night and meteors are flashing through the sky4 ,they are an omen of evil to the disheartened half-defeated army4 ,do not the stars in their courses fight against ,sisera8 ,the rout becomes complete2 ,barak pursues the scattered force towards ,harosheth1 and at the ford near the city there is terrible loss4 ,only the fragments of a ruined army find shelter within the gates4 ,meanwhile ,sisera1 a coward at heart1 more familiar with the parade ground than fit for the stern necessities of war1 leaves his chariot and abandons his men to their fate1 his own safety all his care4 ,seeking that1 it is not to ,harosheth he turns4 ,he takes his way across ,gilboa toward the very region which ,barak has left4 ,on a little plateau overlooking the ,sea of ,galilee1 near ,kedesh1 there is a settlement of ,kenites whom ,sisera thinks he can trust4 ,like a hunted animal he presses on over ridge and through defile till he reaches the black tents and receives from ,jael the treacherous welcome1 ,turn in1 my lord1 turn in to me2 fear not4 ,the pitiful tragedy follows4 ,the coward meets at the hand of a woman the death from which he has fled4 ,jael gives him fermented milk to drink which1 exhausted as he is1 sends him into a deep sleep4 ,then1 as he lies helpless1 she smites the tent-pin through his temples4 ,in her song ,deborah describes and glories over the execution of her country's enemy4 ,blessed among women shall ,jael1 the wife of ,heber be2 with the hammer she smote ,sisera2 at her feet he curled up1 he fell4 ,exulting in every circumstance of the tragedy1 she adds a description of ,sisera's mother and her ladies expecting his return as a victor laden with spoil1 and listening eagerly for the wheels of that chariot which never again should roll through the streets of ,harosheth4 ,as to the whole of this passage1 our estimate of ,deborah's knowledge and spiritual insight does not require us to regard her praise and her judgment as absolute4 ,she rejoices in a deed which has crowned the great victory over the master of nine hundred chariots1 the terror of ,israel2 she glories in the courage of another woman1 who single-handed finished that tyrant's career2 she does not make ,god responsible for the deed4 ,let the outburst of her enthusiastic relief stand as the expression of intense feeling1 the rebound from fear and anxiety of the patriotic heart4 ,we need not weight ourselves with the suspicion that the prophetess reckoned ,jael's deed the outcome of a ,divine thought4 ,no3 but we may believe this of ,jael1 that she is on the side of ,israel1 her sympathy so far repressed by the league of her people with ,jabin1 yet prompting her to use every opportunity of serving the ,hebrew cause4 ,it is clear that if the ,kenite treaty had meant very much and ,jael had felt herself bound by it1 her tent would have been an asylum for the fugitive4 ,but she is against the enemies of ,israel2 her heart is with the people of ,jehovah in the battle and she is watching eagerly for signs of the victory she desires them to win4 ,unexpected1 startling1 the sign appears in the fleeing captain of ,jabin's host1 alone1 looking wildly for shelter4 ,turn in1 my lord2 turn in4 ,will he enter8 ,will he hide himself in a woman's tent8 ,then to her will be committed vengeance4 ,it will be an omen that the hour of ,sisera's fate has come4 ,hospitality itself must yield2 she will break even that sacred law to do stern justice on a coward1 a tyrant1 and an enemy of ,god4 ,a line of thought like this is entirely in harmony with the ,arab character4 ,the moral ideas of the desert are rigorous1 and contempt rapidly becomes cruel4 ,a tent woman has few elements of judgment1 and1 the balance turning1 her conclusion will be quick1 remorseless4 ,jael is no blameless heroine2 neither is she a demon4 ,deborah1 who understands her1 reads clearly the rapid thoughts1 the swift decision1 the unscrupulous act and sees1 behind all1 the purpose of serving ,israel4 ,her praise of ,jael is therefore with knowledge2 but she herself would not have done the thing she praises4 ,all possible explanations made1 it remains a murder1 a wild savage thing for a woman to do1 and we may ask whether among the tents of ,zaanannim ,jael was not looked on from that day as a woman stained and shadowed1--one who had been treacherous to a guest4 ,not here can the moral be found that the end justifies the means1 or that we may do evil with good intent2 which never was a ,bible doctrine and never can be4 ,on the contrary1 we find it written clear that the end does not justify the means4 ,sisera must live on and do the worst he may rather than any soul should be soiled with treachery or any hand defiled by murder4 ,there are human vermin1 human scorpions and vipers4 ,is ,christian society to regard them1 to care for them8 ,the answer is that ,providence regards them and cares for them4 ,they are human after all1 men whom ,god has made1 for whom there are yet hopes1 who are no worse than others would be if ,divine grace did not guard and deliver4 ,rightly does ,christian society affirm that a human being in peril1 in suffering1 in any extremity common to men is to be succoured as a man1 without inquiry whether he is good or vile4 ,what then of justice and man's administration of justice8 ,this1 that they demand a sacred calm1 elevation above the levels of personal feeling1 mortal passion and ignorance4 ,law is to be of no private1 sudden1 unconsidered administration4 ,only in the most solemn and orderly way is the trial of the worst malefactor to be gone about1 sentence passed1 justice executed4 ,to have reached this understanding of law with regard to all accused and suspected persons and all evildoers is one of the great gains of the ,christian period4 ,we need not look for anything like the ideal of justice in the age of the judges2 deeds were done then and zealously and honestly praised which we must condemn4 ,they were meant to bring about good1 but the sum of human violence was increased by them and more work made for the moral reformer of after times4 ,and going back to ,jael's deed we see that it gave ,israel little more than vengeance4 ,in point of fact the crushing defeat of the army left ,sisera powerless1 discredited1 open to the displeasure of his master4 ,he could have done ,israel no more harm4 ,one point remains4 ,emphatically are we reminded that life continually brings us to sudden moments in which we must act without time for careful reflection1 the spirit of our past flashing out in some quick deed or word of fate4 ,sisera's past drove him in panic over the hills to ,zaanannim4 ,jael's past came with her to the door of the tent2 and the two as they looked at each other in that tragic moment were at once1 without warning1 in a crisis for which every thought and passion of years had made a way4 ,here the self-pampering of a vain man had its issue4 ,here the woman1 undisciplined1 impetuous1 catching sight of the means to do a deed1 moves to the fatal stroke like one possessed4 ,it is the sort of thing we often call madness1 and yet such insanity is but the expression of what men and women choose to be capable of4 ,the casual allowance of an impulse here1 a craving there1 seems to mean little until the occasion comes when their accumulated force is sharply or terribly revealed4 ,the laxity of the past thus declares itself2 and on the other hand there is often a gathering of good to a moment of revelation4 ,the soul that has for long years fortified itself in pious courage1 in patient well-doing1 in high and noble thought1 leaps one day1 to its own surprise1 to the height of generous daring or heroic truth4 ,we determine the issue of crises which we cannot foresee4 ,,viii4 ,,deborah',s ,,song3 ,a ,,divine ,,vision4 ,,judges v4 ,the song of ,deborah and ,barak is twofold1 the first portion1 ending with the eleventh verse1 a chant of rising hope and pious encouragement during the time of preparation and revival1 the other a song of battle and victory throbbing with eager patriotism and the hot breath of martial excitement4 ,in the former part ,god is celebrated as the ,helper of ,israel from of old and from afar2 ,he is the spring of the movement in which the singer rejoices1 and in ,his praise the strophes culminate4 ,but human nature asserts itself after the great and decisive triumph in the vivid touches of the latter canto4 ,in it more is told of the doings of men1 and there is picturesque fiery exultation over the fallen4 ,one might almost think that ,deborah1 herself childless1 glories over the mother of ,sisera in the utter desolation which falls on her when she hears the tidings of her son's defeat and death4 ,yet this mood ceases abruptly1 and the song returns to ,jehovah1 ,whose friends are lifted up to joy and strength by ,his availing help4 ,the main interest of the twofold song lies in its religious colour1 for here the pious ardour of the ,israel of the judges comes to finest expression4 ,as a whole it is more patriotic than moral1 more warlike than religious1 and thus unquestionably reflects the temper of the time4 ,what ideas do we find in it of the relation of ,israel to ,god and of ,god to ,israel1 what conceptions of the ,divine character8 ,jehovah is invoked and praised as the ,god of the ,hebrews alone4 ,he seems to have no interest in the ,canaanites1 nor compassion towards them4 ,yet the grandeur of the ,divine forthgoing is declared in bold and striking imagery1 and the high resolves of men are clearly traced to the ,spirit of the ,almighty4 ,duty to ,god is linked with duty to country1 and it is at least suggested that ,israel without ,jehovah is nothing and has no right to a place among the peoples4 ,the nation exists for the glory of its ,heavenly ,king1 to make known ,his power and ,his righteous acts4 ,a strain like this in a war-song belonging to the time of ,israel's semi-barbarism bears no uncertain promise4 ,from the well-spring out of which it flows clear and sparkling there will come other songs1 with tenderer music and holier longing1--songs of spiritual hope and generous desire for ,messianic peace4 99 99 99 99 99 #a4 ,the first religious note is struck in what may be called the opening ,hallelujah1 although the ejaculation1 ,bless the ,lord1 is not1 in ,hebrew1 that which afterwards became the great refrain of sacred song4 ,for that leaders led in ,israel1 ,for that the people offered themselves willingly3 ,bless ye ,jehovah4 ,here is more than belief in ,providence4 ,it is faith in the spiritual presence and power of ,god swaying the souls of men4 ,has ,deborah seen at last1 after long efforts to rouse the careless people1 one and another responding to her appeals and seeking her tent among the hills8 ,has she witnessed the vows of the chiefs of ,issachar and ,zebulun that they would not be wanting in the day of battle8 ,not to herself but to the ,god of ,israel is the new temper ascribed4 ,jehovah1 ,who touched her own heart1 has now touched many another4 ,for years she had been aware of holier influences than came to her from the people among whom she lived4 ,in secret1 in the silence of the heart1 she had found herself mastered by thoughts that none around her shared4 ,she has well accounted for them4 ,jehovah has spoken to her1 ,jehovah caring still for ,his people1 waiting to redeem them from bondage4 ,and now1 when her prophetic cry finds echo in other souls1 when men who were asleep rise up and declare their purpose1 especially when from this side and that companies of brave youths and resolute elders come to her--from the slopes of ,carmel1 from the hills of ,gilead--the fire of hope in their eyes1 how otherwise explain the upspringing of energy and devotion than as the work of the ,spirit that has moved her own soul8 ,to ,jehovah is all the praise4 ,common enough in our day is a profession of belief in ,god as the source of every good desire and right effort1 as inspiring the charity of the generous1 the affection of the loving1 the fidelity of the true4 ,but if our faith is deep and real it brings us much nearer than we usually feel ourselves to be to ,him ,who is the ,life indeed4 ,the existence and energy of ,god are assured to those who have this insight4 ,every kindness done by man to man is a testimony against which denial of the ,divine life has no power4 ,though the intellect searching far afield makes out only as it were some few dim and indistinct footprints of a ,mighty ,being ,who has passed by1 seen at intervals on the plains of history1 then lost in the morasses or on the rocky ground1 there ought to be found in every human life daily evidence of ,divine grace and wisdom4 ,the good1 the true1 the noble constantly appeal to men1 find men2 and through these ,god finds them4 ,when a magnanimous word is spoken1 ,god is heard4 ,when a deed is done in love1 in purity1 in courage or pity1 ,god is seen4 ,when out of languor and corruption and self-indulgence men arise and set their faces to the steep of duty1 ,god is revealed4 ,he in ,whom we trust for the redemption of the world never leaves ,himself without a witness1 whether faith perceives or unbelief denies4 ,the human story unfolds a ,divine urgency by which the progress1 the evolution of all that is good proceed from age to age4 ,man has never been left to nature alone nor to himself alone4 ,the supernatural has always mingled with his life4 ,he has resisted often1 he has rebelled2 yet conscience has not ceased1 ,god has not withdrawn4 ,this living energy of ,jehovah1 not only as belonging to the past but discovered in the new zeal of ,israel1 ,deborah saw1 and in virtue of the revelation she was far before her time4 ,for the fresh life of the people1 for the willing self-devotion of so many to the great cause1 she lifted her voice in praise to ,israel's ,eternal ,friend4 #b4 ,the next passage may be called a prologue in the heavens4 ,partly historical1 it is chiefly a vision of ,jehovah's age-long work for ,his people4 ,in words that flash and roll the song describes the glorious advent of the ,most ,high1 nature astir with ,his presence1 the mountains shaking under ,his tread4 ,the seat of the ,divine ,majesty appears to the prophetess to be in ,seir4 ,she looks across the hills of the south and passes beyond the desert to that place of mystery where ,god spoke in thunder and proclaimed ,himself in the ,law4 ,the imagery points to the phenomena of earthquake and a fearful lightning storm accompanied with heavy rain4 ,these1 the most striking natural symbols of the supernatural1 form the materials of the strophe4 ,perhaps even as the song is chanted the thunders of ,sinai are echoed in a great storm that shakes the sky and rolls among the hills4 ,the outward signs represent the new impressions of ,divine power and authority which are startling and rousing the tribes4 ,they have heard no voices1 seen no tokens of ,god for many a year4 ,he ,who led their fathers out of bondage1 ,he ,who marched with them through the desert1 has been forgotten2 but ,he returns1 ,he is with them again4 ,the office of the prophetess is to celebrate ,god's presence and excite in the dull souls of men some feeling of ,his majesty4 ,sinai once trembled and was dismayed before ,god4 ,the great peak beside which ,tabor is but a mound flowed down in volcanic glow and rush4 ,it is ,he ,whose coming ,deborah hears in the beating storm1 ,he ,whose victorious feet shake the hills of ,ephraim4 ,have the people forsaken their ,king8 ,let them seek ,him1 trust ,him now4 ,under the shadow of ,his wings there is refuge2 before ,his arrows and the fierce floods ,he pours from heaven who can stand8 ,it has been well said that for the ,israel of ancient times all natural phenomena--a storm1 a hurricane or a flood--had more than ordinary import4 ,forbidden to recognise and1 as it were1 grasp the ,god of heaven in any material form1 or to adore even in the heavens themselves any constant symbols of ,his being and ,his power1 yet yearning more in spirit for manifestations of ,his invisible existence1 ,israel's mind was ever on the stretch for any hint in nature of the unseen ,celestial ,being1 for any glimpse of ,his mysterious ways1 and its courage rose to a far higher pitch when ,divine encouragement and impulse seemed to come from the material world4#e ,from the images of ,baal and the ,ashtaroth ,israel had turned2 but where was their ,heavenly ,king8 ,the answer came with marvellous power when ,deborah in the midst of the rolling thunder could say1 ,lord1 when ,thou wentest forth out of ,seir1 when ,thou marchedst out of the field of ,edom1 the earth trembled1 the heavens also dropped4 ,the mountains flowed down at the presence of ,jehovah4 ,if the people bethought themselves of the clear demonstration of ,divine majesty made to their fathers1 they would realize ,god once more as the ,ruler in heaven and earth4 ,then would courage revive1 and in the faith of the ,almighty they would go forth to victory4 #e ,ewald4 ,now was there in this faith an element of reason1 a correspondence with fact8 ,is it fancy and nothing else1 the poetic flight of an ardent soul eager to rouse a nation8 ,have we here an arbitrary connection made between striking natural events and a ,divine ,person throned in the heavens ,whose existence the prophetess assumes1 ,whose supposed claim to obedience haunts her mind8 ,in such a question our age utters its scepticism4 ,an age it is of science1 of positive science4 ,toiling for centuries at the task of understanding the phenomenal1 research has at length assumed the right to tell us what we must believe concerning the world--what we are to believe1 observe1 for it is a new creed and nothing else that confronts us here4 ,the government of the world1 says one1 must not be considered as determined by an extramundane intelligence1 but by one immanent in the cosmical forces and their relations4 ,another says3 ,the world or matter with its properties which we term forces must have existed from eternity and must last for ever--in one word1 the world cannot have been created4444 ,the ever-changing action of the natural forces is the fundamental cause of all that arises and perishes4 ,or again1 not most recent in time but entirely modern in temper1 we have the following3 ,science has gradually taken all the positions of the childish belief of the peoples2 it has snatched thunder and lightning from the hands of the gods4 ,the stupendous powers of the ,titans of the olden time have been grasped by the fingers of man4 ,that which appeared inexplicable1 miraculous and the work of a supernatural power has by the touch of science proved to be the effect of hitherto unknown natural forces4 ,everything that happens does so in a natural way1 i4e41 in a mode determined only by accidental or necessary coalition of existing materials and their immanent natural forces4 ,here is dogma forced on faith with fine energy2 and what more is to be said when judgment is given--,i have searched the heavens1 but have nowhere found the traces of a ,god8 ,we hear the boast that no song of ,hebrew seer can withstand this modern wisdom1 that the superstition of ,bible faith shall vanish like starlight before the rising sun4 ,to science every opinion shall submit4 ,but wait4 ,it is dogmatism against belief after all1 authority against authority1 and the one in a lower region than the other1 with vastly inferior sanctions4 ,natural science declares the present result of its observation of the universe1 investigation brief1 superficial1 and limited to one small corner of the whole4 ,yet these deliverances are to be set above the science which deals with existence on the highest plane1 the spiritual1 solving deepest problems of life and conscience1 finding perpetual support in the experience of men4 ,the claim is somewhat large2 it lacks the proof of service2 it lacks verification4 ,science boasts greatly1 as is natural to its adolescence4 ,but at what point can it dare to say1 ,here is final truth1 here is certainty8 ,we do not repel our debt to the discoverer when we maintain that natural science is only watching the surface of a stream for a few miles along its course1 while the springs far away among the eternal hills and the outflow into the infinite ocean are never viewed4 ,are we taunted with believing8 ,those who taunt us must supply for their part something more than inference ere we trust all to their wisdom4 ,the ,force that is so much invoked1 what is it so far as the definitions of science go8 ,effects we see2 ,force never4 ,all statements as to the nature of force are pure dogma4 ,it is declared that there are necessary and eternal laws of matter4 ,what makes them necessary1 and who can prove their everlastingness8 ,using such words men pass infinitely beyond material research--they infer--they assert4 ,in the region of natural science we can affirm nothing to be eternal1 and even necessity is a word that has no warrant4 ,it is only in the soul1 in the region of moral ideas1 we come on that which endures1 which is necessary1 which has constant reality4 ,and it is here that our belief in ,god as universal ,creator1 the ,source of power and life1 the ,one ,agent1 the ,king eternal1 immortal and invisible1 finds root and strength4 ,the battle between materialism and religious faith is not a battle in which facts are arrayed on one side and inferences and dreams on the other4 ,the array is of facts against facts1 as we have said1 and with an immense difference of value4 ,is it an established sequence that when the electricity in the clouds is not in equipoise with that of the earth1 under certain conditions there is a thunderstorm8 ,it is surely a sequence of higher moment that when the sense of righteousness seizes the minds of men they rise against iniquity and there is a revolution4 ,there natural forces operate1 here spiritual4 ,but on which side is the indication of eternity8 ,which of these sequences can better claim to give a key to the order of the universe8 ,surely if the evolution of the ages1 so far1 has culminated in man with his capability of knowing and serving the true1 the just1 the good1 these facts of his mind and life are the highest of which we can take cognizance1 and in them1 if anywhere1 we must find the key to all knowledge1 the reason of all phenomena4 ,evolutionary science itself must agree to this4 ,in the movements of nature we find no advance to fixity and finality4 ,nature labours1 men labour with or against nature2 but the flux of things is perpetual2 there is no escape from change4 ,in the efforts of the spiritual life it is not so4 ,when we strive for equalness1 for verity1 for purity1 we have glimpses then of the changeless order which we must needs call ,divine4 ,here is the indication of eternity2 and as we investigate1 as we experience1 we come to certitude1 we reach larger vision1 larger faith4 ,that which endures rises clear above that which appears and passes4 ,returning to ,deborah's song and her vision of the coming of ,god in the impetuous storm1 we see the practical value of ,theism4 ,one great idea1 comprehensive and majestic1 leads thought beyond symbol and change to the ,all-righteous ,lord4 ,to attribute phenomena to ,nature is a sterile mode of thought2 nothing is done for life4 ,to attribute phenomena to a variety of superhuman persons limits and weakens the religious idea sought after2 still one is lost in the changeable4 ,theism delivers the soul from both evils and sets it on a free upward path1 stern yet alluring4 ,by this path the ,hebrew prophet rose to the high and fruitful conceptions which draw men together in responsibility and worship4 ,the eternal governs all1 rules every change2 and that eternal is the holy will of ,god4 ,the omnipotence nature obeys is the omnipotence of right4 ,israel returning to ,god will find ,him coming to the help of ,his people in the awful or kindly movements of the natural world4 ,our view in one sense extends beyond that of the ,hebrew seer4 ,we find the purpose disclosed in natural phenomena to be somewhat different4 ,not the protection of a favoured race1 but the discipline of humanity is what we perceive4 ,ours is an expansion of the ,hebrew faith1 revealing the same ,divine goodness engaged in a redeeming work of wider scope and longer duration4 ,the point is still in doubt among us whether the good1 the true1 the right1 are invincible4 ,those who go forth in the service of ,god are often borne down by the graceless multitude4 ,from age to age the problem of ,god's supremacy seems to remain in suspense1 and men are not afraid1 in the name of foulest iniquity1 to try issues with the best4 ,be it so4 ,the ,divine work is slow4 ,even the best need discipline that they may have strength1 and ,god is in no haste to carry ,his argument against atheism4 ,there is abundance of time4 ,those bent on evil or misled by falsehood1 those who are on the wrong side though they consider themselves soldiers of a good cause may gain on many a field1 yet their gain will turn out in the long run to be loss1 and they who lose and fall are really the victors4 ,there is defeat that is better than success4 ,other ages than belong to this world's history are yet to dawn1 and the discovery will come to every intelligence that he alone triumphs whose life is spent for righteousness and love1 in fidelity to ,god and man4 #c4 ,let it be allowed that we find the latter canto of ,deborah's song expressive of faith rather than of clear morality1 pointing to a spiritual future rather than exhibiting actual knowledge of the ,divine character4 ,we hear of the righteous acts of the ,lord1 and the note is welcome1 yet most likely the thought is of retributive justice and punishment that overtakes the enemies of ,israel4 ,when the remnant of the nobles and the people come down--that remnant of brave and faithful men never wanting to ,israel--the ,lord comes down with them1 their ,guide and ,strength4 ,meroz is cursed because the inhabitants do not go forth to the help of ,jehovah4 ,and finally there is glorying over ,sisera because he is an enemy of ,israel's ,unseen ,king4 ,there is trust1 there is devotion1 but no largeness of spiritual view4 ,we must1 however1 remember that a song full of the spirit of battle and the gladness of victory cannot be expected to breathe the ideal of religion4 ,the mind of the singer is too excited by the circumstances of the time1 the bustle1 the triumph1 to dwell on higher themes4 ,when fighting has to be done it is the main business of the hour1 cannot be aught else to those who are engaged4 ,a woman especially1 strung to an unusual pitch of nervous endurance1 would be absorbed in the events and her own new and strange position2 and she would pass rapidly from the tension of anxiety to a keen passionate exultation in which everything was lost except the sense of deliverance and of personal vindication4 ,when that is past which was an issue of life or death1 freedom or destruction1 joy rises in a sudden spring1 joy in the prowess of men1 the fulness of ,divine succour2 neither the prophetess nor the fighters are indifferent to justice and mercy1 though they do not name them here4 ,deborah1 a woman of intense patriotism and piety1 dared greatly for ,god and her country2 of a base thing she was incapable4 ,the men who fought by the waters of ,megiddo and slew their enemies ruthlessly in the heat of battle knew in the time of peace the duties of humanity and no doubt showed kindness when the war was over to the widows and orphans of the slain4 ,to know and serve ,jehovah was a guarantee of moral culture in a rude age2 and the ,israelites when they returned to ,him must have contrasted very favourably in respect of conduct with the devotees of ,baal and ,astarte4 ,for a parallel case we may turn to ,oliver ,cromwell4 ,in his letter after the storming of ,bristol1 a bloody piece of work in which the mettle of the ,parliamentary force was put keenly to proof1 ,cromwell ascribes the victory to ,god in these terms3--,they that have been employed in this service know that faith and prayer obtained this city for you4 ,god hath put the sword in the ,parliament's hands for the terror of evil-doers and the praise of them that do well4 ,of victory after victory which left many a home desolate he speaks as mercies to be acknowledged with all thankfulness4 ,god exceedingly abounds in ,his goodness to us1 and will not be weary until righteousness and peace meet1 and until ,he hath brought forth a glorious work for the happiness of this poor kingdom4 ,read his dispatches and you find that though the man had a generous heart and was a sworn servant of ,christ the merciful1 yet he breathes no compassion for the royal troops4 ,these are the enemy against whom a pious man is bound to fight2 the slaughter of them is a terrible necessity4 ,just now it is the fashion to depreciate as much as possible the moral value of the old ,hebrew faith4 ,we are assured in a tone of authority that ,israel's ,jehovah was only another ,chemosh1 or1 say1 a respectable ,baal1 a being without moral worth1--in fact1 a mere name of might worshipped by ,israelites as their protector4 ,the history of the people settles this uncritical theory4 ,if the religion of ,israel did not sustain a higher morality1 if the faith of ,jehovah was purely secular1 how came ,israel to emerge as a nation from the long conflict with ,moabites1 ,canaanites1 ,midianites and ,philistines8 ,the ,hebrews were not superior in point of numbers1 unity or military skill to the nations whose interest it was to subdue or expel them4 ,some vantage ground the ,israelites must have had4 ,what was it8 ,justice between man and man1 domestic honour1 care for human life1 a measure of unselfishness1--these at least1 as well as the entire purity of their religious rites1 were their inheritance2 through these the blessing of the ,eternal rested upon them4 ,there could never be a return to ,him in penitence and hope without a return to the duties and the faith of the sacred covenant4 ,we know therefore that while ,deborah sings her song of battle and exults over fallen ,sisera there is latent in her mind and the minds of her people a warmth of moral purpose justifying their new liberty4 ,this nation is again a militant church4 ,the hearts of men enlarge that ,god may dwell in them4 ,israel's triumph1 shall it not be for the good of those who are overcome8 ,shall not the people of ,jehovah1 going forth as the sun in his might1 shed a kindly radiance over the lands around8 ,so fine a conception of duty is scarcely to be found in ,deborah's song1 but1 realized or not in ,old ,testament times1 it was the revelation of ,god through ,israel to the world4 ,,ix4 ,,deborah',s ,,song3 ,a ,,chant ,,of ,,patriotism4 ,,judges v4 ,we have already considered the song of ,deborah as a declaration of ,god's working more broad and spiritual than might be looked for in that age4 ,we now regard it as exhibiting different relations of men to the ,divine purpose4 ,there is a religious spirit in the whole movement here described4 ,it begins in a revival of faith and obedience1 prospers despite the coldness and opposition of many1 grows in force and enthusiasm as it proceeds and finally is crowned with success4 ,the church is militant in a literal sense2 yet1 fighting with carnal weapons1 it is really contending for the glory of the ,unseen ,king4 ,there is a close parallel between the enterprise of ,deborah and ,barak and that which opens before the church of the present time4 ,no forced accommodation is needed to gather from the song lessons of different kinds for our guidance and warning in the campaign of ,christianity4 ,here are ,deborah herself1 a mother in ,israel1 and the leaders who take their places at the head of the armies of ,god4 ,here also are the people willingly offering themselves1 imperilling their lives for religion and freedom4 ,the history of the past and the vision of ,jehovah as sole ,ruler of nature and providence encourage the faithful1 who rise out of lethargy and leave the by-ways of life to take the field in battle array4 ,the levies of ,ephraim1 ,benjamin1 ,zebulun1 ,issachar and ,naphtali represent those who are decisively ,christian1 ready to hazard all for the gospel's sake4 ,but ,reuben sits among the sheepfolds and listens to the pipings for the flocks1 ,dan remains in ships1 ,asher at the haven of the sea2 and these may stand for the self-cultivating self-serving professors of religion4 ,jabin and ,sisera again are established opponents of the right cause2 they are brave in their own defence2 their positions look most formidable1 their battalions shake the ground4 ,but the stars from heaven1 the floods of ,kishon1 are only a small part of the forces of the ,king of heaven2 and the soul of ,israel marches on in strength till the enemy is routed4 ,meroz practically helps the foe4 ,those who dwell within its walls are doubtful of the issue and will not risk their lives2 the curse of sullen apostasy falls upon them4 ,jael is a vivid type of the unscrupulous helpers of a good cause1 those who employing the weapons and methods of the world would fain be servants of that kingdom in which nothing base1 nothing earthly can have place4 ,and there are the children of the hour1 the fine ladies of ,harosheth whose pleasure and pride are bound up with oppression1 who look through the lattices and listen in vain for the returning chariots laden with spoil4 #a4 ,the leaders and head men of the tribes under ,deborah and ,barak1 ,deborah foremost in the great enterprise1 her soul on fire with zeal for ,israel and for ,god4 ,deborah and ,barak show throughout that spirit of cordial agreement1 that frank support of each other which at all times are so much to be desired in religious leaders4 ,there is no jealousy1 no striving for pre-eminence4 ,barak is a brave man1 but he will not stir without the prophetess2 he is quite content to give her the place of honour while he does the martial work4 ,deborah again would commit the task to ,barak's hands in complete reliance on his wisdom and valour2 yet she is ready to appear along with him1 and in her song1 while she claims the prophetic office1 it is to ,barak she renders the honours of victory--,lead thy thraldom in thrall1 thou son of ,abinoam4 ,rarely1 it must be confessed1 is there entire harmony among the leaders of affairs4 ,jealousy is too often with them from the first4 ,suspicion lurks under the council table1 private ambitions and unworthy fears make confusion when each should trust and encourage another4 ,the fine enthusiasm of a great cause does not overcome as it ought the selfishness of human nature4 ,moreover1 varieties in disposition as between the cautious and the impetuous1 the more and the less of sagacity or of faith1 a failure in sincerity here1 in justice there1 are separating influences constantly at work4 ,but when the pressing importance of the duties entrusted to men by ,god governs every will1 these elements of division cease2 leaders who differ in temperament are loyal to each other then1 each jealous of the others' honour as servants of truth4 ,in the ,reformation1 for example1 prosperity was largely due to the fact that two such men as ,luther and ,melanchthon1 very different yet thoroughly united1 stood side by side in the thick of the conflict1 ,luther's impetuosity moderated by the calmer spirit of the other1 ,melanchthon's craving for peace kept from dangerous concession by the boldness of his friend4 ,their mutual love and fidelity showed the nobleness of both1 showed also what the ,protestant ,gospel was4 ,their differences melted away in enthusiasm for the ,word of ,god1 which one thought of as a celestial ambrosia1 the other as a sword1 a war1 a destruction springing upon the children of ,ephraim like a lioness in the forest4 ,the ,divine work was the life of each2 each in his own way sought with splendid earnestness to forward the truth of ,christ4 ,church leaders are responsible for not a little which they themselves condemn4 ,differences do not quickly arise among disciples when the teachers are modest1 honourable1 and brotherly4 ,paul cries1 ,is ,christ divided8 ,were ye baptized into the name of ,paul8 ,what is ,apollos8 ,what is ,paul8 ,ministers by whom ye believed4 ,when our leaders speak and feel in like manner there will be peace1 not uniformity but something better4 ,god's husbandry1 ,god's building will prosper4 ,but it is declared to be jealousy for religion that divides--jealousy for the pure doctrine of ,christ--jealousy for the true church4 ,we try to believe it4 ,but then why are not all in that spirit of holy jealousy found side by side as comrades1 eagerly yet in cordial brotherhood discussing points of difference1 determined that they will search together and help each other until they find principles in which they can all rest8 ,the leaders of different ,christian bodies do not appear like ,deborah and ,barak engaged in a common enterprise1 but as chiefs of rival or even opposing armies4 ,the reason is that in this church and the other there has been a foreclosing of questions1 and the elected leaders are almost all men who are pledged to the tribal decrees4 ,in the decisions of councils and synods1 and not less in the deliverances of learned doctors apologising each for his own sect and marking out the path his party must travel1 there has been ever since the days of the apostles a hardening and limiting of opinion4 ,thought has been prematurely crystallized and each church prides itself on its own special deposit4 ,the true church leader should understand that a course which may have been inevitable in the past is not the virtue of to-day and that those are simply adhering to an antiquated position who affirm one church to be the sole possessor of truth1 the only centre of authority4 ,it may seem strange to advise the churches to reconsider many of the ideas built into creed and constitution and to reject all leaders who are such by credit of sitting immovable in the seats of the rabbis1 but the progress of ,christianity in power and assurance waits upon a new brotherliness which will bring about a new catholicity4 ,under guides of the right kind the churches will have qualities and distinctions as heretofore1 each will be a rendezvous for spirits of a certain order1 but frankly confessing each other's right and honour they will press on abreast to scale and possess the uplands of truth4 ,to be sure something is said of tolerance4 ,but that is a purely political idea4 ,let it not be so much as named in the assembly of ,god's people4 ,does ,barak tolerate ,deborah8 ,does ,moses tolerate ,aaron8 ,does ,st4 ,peter tolerate ,st4 ,paul8 ,the disciples of ,christ tolerate each other1 do they8 ,what marvellous largeness of soul6 ,one or two1 it appears1 have been made sole keepers of the ark but are prepared to tolerate the embarrassing help of well-meaning auxiliaries4 ,neither charity of that sort nor flabbiness of belief is asked4 ,let each be strongly persuaded in his own mind of that which he has learned from ,christ4 ,but where ,christ has not foreclosed inquiry and where sincere and thoughtful believers differ there is no place for what is called tolerance2 the demand is for brotherly fellowship in thought and labour4 ,deborah was a mother in ,israel1 a nursing mother of the people in their spiritual childhood1 with a mother's warm heart for the oppressed and weary flock4 ,the nation needed a new birth1 and that1 by the grace of ,god1 ,deborah gave it in the sore travail of her soul4 ,for many a year she suffered1 prayed and entreated4 ,israel had chosen new gods and in serving them was dying to righteousness1 dying to ,jehovah4 ,deborah had to pour her own life into the half-dead1 and compared to this effort the battle with the ,canaanites was but a secondary matter4 ,so is it always4 ,the ,divine task is that of the mother-like souls that labour for the quickening of faith and holy service4 ,great victories of ,christian valour1 patience and love are never won without that renewal of humanity2 and everything is due to those who have guided the ignorant into knowledge1 the careless to thought and the weak to strength through years of patient toil4 ,they are not all prophets1 not all known to the tribes3 of many such the record waits hidden with their ,god until the day of revealing and rejoicing4 ,yet ,barak also1 the ,lightning ,chief1 has honourable part4 ,when the men are collected1 men new-born into life1 he can lead them4 ,they are ,ironsides under him4 ,he rushes down from ,tabor and they at his feet with a vigour nothing can resist4 ,if we have ,deborah we shall also have ,barak1 his army and his victory4 ,the promise is not for women only but for all in the private ways and obscure settlements of life who labour at the making of men4 ,every ,christian has the responsibility and joy of helping to prepare a way for the coming of ,jehovah in some great outburst of faith and righteousness4 #b4 ,we contrast next the people who offered themselves willingly1 who jeoparded their lives unto the death upon the high places of the field1 and those who for one reason or another held aloof4 ,with united leaders there is a measure of unity among the tribes4 ,barak and ,deborah summon all who are ready to strike for liberty1 and there is a great muster4 ,yet there might be double the number4 ,those who refuse to take arms have many pretexts1 but the real cause is want of heart4 ,the oppression of ,jabin does not much affect some ,israelites1 and so far as it does they would rather go on paying tribute than risk their lives1 rather bear the ills they have than hazard anything in joining ,barak4 ,these holding back1 the work has to be done by a comparatively small number1 a remnant of the nobles and the people4 ,but a remnant is always found2 there are men and women who do not bow the knee to the ,baal of worldly fashion1 who do not content their souls amid the fleshpots of low servitude4 ,they have to venture and sacrifice much in a long and varying war1 and oftentimes their flesh and heart may almost fail4 ,but a great reward is theirs4 ,while others are spiritless and hopeless they know the zest of life1 its real power and joy4 ,they know what believing means1 how strong it makes the soul4 ,their all is in the spiritual kingdom which cannot be moved4 ,god is the portion of their souls1 their gladness and glory4 ,those who stand by and look on while the conflict rages may share to a certain extent in the liberty that is won1 for the gains of ,christian warfare are not limited1 they are for all mankind4 ,there is a wider and better ordered life for all when this evil custom and that have been overcome1 when one ,jabin after another ceases to oppress4 ,yet what is it after all to touch the border of ,christian liberty8 ,to the fighters belongs the inheritance itself1 an ever-extending conquest1 a land of olives and vineyards and streams of living water4 ,different tribes are named that sent contingents to the army of ,barak4 ,they are typical of different churches1 different orders of society that are forward in the campaign of faith4 ,the ,hebrews who came most readily at the battle call appear to have belonged to districts where the ,canaanite oppression was heavy1 the country that lay between ,harosheth1 the head-quarters of ,sisera1 and ,hazor the city of ,jabin4 ,so in the ,christian struggle of the ages the strenuous part falls to those who suffer from the tyranny of the temporal and see clearly the hopelessness of life without religion4 ,the gospel of ,christ is peculiarly precious to men and women whose lot is hard1 whose earthly future is clouded4 ,sacrifices for ,god's cause are made as a rule by these4 ,in ,his great purpose1 in ,his deep knowledge of the facts of life1 our ,lord joined ,himself to the poor and left with them a special blessing4 ,it is not that men who dwell in comfort are independent of the gospel1 but they are tempted to think themselves so4 ,in proportion as they are fenced in amongst possessions and social claims they are apt1 though devout1 to miss that very call which is the message of the gospel to them4 ,well-meaning but absorbed1 they can rarely bestir themselves to hear and do until some personal calamity or public disaster awakens them to the truth of things4 ,the steady support of ,christian ordinances and work in our day is largely the honour of people who have their full share in the struggle for earthly necessaries or a humble standing in the ranks of the independent4 ,the paradox is real and striking2 it claims the attention of those who vainly dream that a comfortable society would certainly become ,christian1 as effect follows cause4 ,while the religion of ,christ makes for justice and temporal well-being1 blessing even the unbeliever1 while it leads the way to a high standard of social order1 these things remain of no value in themselves to men unspiritual3 it holds true that man can never live by bread alone1 but by the words which proceed out of the mouth of ,god4 ,and there are forces at work among us on behalf of the ,divine counsel that shall not fail to maintain the struggle necessary to the discipline and growth of souls4 ,the real army of faith is largely drawn from the ranks of the toilers and the heavy laden4 ,yet not entirely4 ,we reckon many and fine exceptions4 ,there are rich who are less worldly than those who have little4 ,many whose lot lies far from the shadow of tyranny in green and pleasant valleys are first to hear and quickest to answer every call from the ,captain of the ,lord's host4 ,their possessions are nothing to them4 ,in the spiritual battle all is spent1 knowledge1 influence1 wealth1 life4 ,and if you look for the highest examples of ,christianity1 a faith pure1 keen and lovely1 a generosity that most clearly reveals the ,master1 a passion for truth consuming all lower regards1 you will find them where culture has done its best for the mind and the bounty of providence has kindled a gracious humility and an abounding gentleness of heart4 ,the tawdry vanities of their fellows in rank and wealth seem what they are to these1 the gaudy toys of children who have not yet seen the glory and the goal of life4 ,and how can men and women hear the clarion of the ,christian war ringing over the valleys of degradation and fear1 see the ,divine contest surging through the land1 and not perceive that here and here only is life8 ,men play at statecraft and grow cold as they intrigue2 they play at financing and become ciphers in a monstrous sum2 they toil at pleasure till ,satan himself might pity them1 for at least he has a purpose to serve4 ,all the while there is offered to them the vigour1 the buoyancy1 the glow of an ambition and a service in which no spirit tires and no heart withers4 ,passing strange it is that so few noble1 so few mighty1 so few wise hear the keen cry from the cross as one of life and power4 ,among the tribes that held aloof from the great conflict several are specially named4 ,messengers have gone to the land of ,reuben beyond ,jordan1 and carried the fiery cross through ,bashan4 ,dan has been summoned and ,asher from the haven of the sea4 ,but these have not responded4 ,reuben indeed has searchings of heart4 ,some of the people remember the old promise made at ,shittim in the plain of ,moab1 that they would help their brethren who crossed into ,canaan1 never refusing assistance till the land was fully possessed4 ,moses had solemnly charged them with that duty1 and they had bound themselves in covenant3 ,as the ,lord hath said unto thy servants1 so will we do4 ,could anything have been more seriously1 more decisively undertaken8 ,yet1 when this hour of need came1 though the duty lay upon the conscience nothing was done4 ,along the watercourses of ,gilead and ,bashan there were flocks to tend1 to protect from the ,amalekites and ,midianites of the desert who would be sure to make a raid in the absence of the fighting men4 ,to ,asher and ,dan the reference is perhaps somewhat ironical4 ,the ships for trade1 the haven of the sea1 were never much to these tribes1 and their maritime ambition made an unworthy excuse4 ,they had perhaps a little fishing1 some small trade on the coast1 and petty as the gain was it filled their hearts4 ,asher abode by his creeks4 ,it is not to a religious festival that ,deborah and ,barak have called the tribes4 ,it is to serious and dangerous duty4 ,yet the call of duty should come with more power than any invitation even to spiritual enjoyment4 ,the great religious gathering has its use1 its charm4 ,we know the attraction of the crowded convocation in which ,christian hope and enthusiasm are re-kindled by stirring words and striking instances1 faith rising high as it views the wide mission of gospel truth and hears from eloquent lips the story of a modern day of ,pentecost4 ,to many1 because their own spiritual life burns dull1 the daily and weekly routine of things becomes empty1 vain1 unsatisfying4 ,in the common round even of valued religious exercise the heat and promise of ,christianity seem to be lacking4 ,in the convention they appear to be realized as nowhere else1 and the persuasion that ,god may be felt there in a special manner is laying hold of ,christian people4 ,they are right in their eager desire to be borne along with the flood of redeeming grace2 but we have need to ask what the life of faith is1 how it is best nourished4 ,to have a personal share in ,god's controversy with evil1 to have a place however obscure in the actual struggle of truth with falsehood1--this alone gives confidence in the result and power in believing4 ,those who are in contact with spiritual reality because they have their own testimony to bear1 their own watch to keep at some outpost1 find stimulus in the urgency of duty and exultation in the consciousness of service4 ,men often seek in public gatherings what they can only find in the private ways of effort and endurance2 they seek the joy of harvest when they should be at the labour of sowing2 they would fain be cheered by the song of victory when they should be roused by the trumpet of battle4 ,and the result is that where spiritual work waits to be done there are but few to do it4 ,examine the state of any ,christian church1 reckon up those who are deeply interested in its efficiency1 who make sacrifices of time and means1 and set against these the half-hearted1 who ignobly accept the religious provision made for them and perhaps complain that it is not so good as they would like1 that progress is not so rapid as they think it might be1--the one class far outnumbers the other4 ,as in ,israel twice or three times as many might have responded to ,barak's call1 so in every church the resolute1 the energetic and devoted are few compared with those who are capable of energy and devotion4 ,it is sometimes maintained that the worship of goodness and the ,christian ideal command the minds of men more to-day than ever they did1 and proof seems ready to hand4 ,but1 after all1 is it not religious taste rather than reverence that grows8 ,self-culture leads many to a certain admiration of ,christ and a form of discipleship4 ,christian worship is enjoyed and ,christian philanthropy also1 but when the spiritual freedom of mankind calls for some effort of the soul and life1 we see what religion means--a wave of the hand instead of enthusiasm1 a guinea subscription instead of thoughtful service4 ,is it a ,christian or a selfish culture which is content with fragmentary concessions and complacent patronage where the claims of social inferiors are concerned8 ,that there is a wide diffusion of religious feeling is clear enough2 but in many respects it is mere dilettantism4 ,notice the history of the tribes that lag behind in the day of the ,lord's summons4 ,what do we hear of ,reuben after this8 ,unstable as water thou shalt not excel4 ,along with ,gad ,reuben possessed a splendid country1 but these two faded away into a sort of barbarism1 scarcely maintaining their separateness from the wild races of the desert4 ,asher in like manner suffered from the contact with ,phoenicia and lost touch with the more faithful tribes4 ,so it is always4 ,those who shirk religious duty lose the strength and dignity of religion4 ,though greatly favoured in place and gifts they fall into that spiritual impotence which means defeat and extinction4 ,curse ye ,meroz1 said the angel of the ,lord1 curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof2 because they came not to the help of the ,lord against the mighty4 ,it is a stern judgment upon those whose active assistance was humanly speaking necessary in the day of battle4 ,the men only held back1 held back in doubt1 supposing that it was vain for ,hebrews to fling themselves against the iron chariots of ,sisera4 ,were they not prudent1 looking at the matter all round8 ,why should a curse so heavy be pronounced on men who only sought to save their lives8 ,the reply is that secular history curses such men1 those of ,sparta for example to whom ,athens sent in vain when the battle of ,marathon was impending2 and further that ,christ has declared the truth which is for all time1 ,whosoever will save his life shall lose it4 ,erasmus was a wise man2 yet he made the great blunder4 ,he saw clearly the errors of ,romanism and the miserable bondage in which it kept the souls of men1 and if he had joined the reformers his judgment and learning would have become part of the world's progressive life4 ,but he held back doubting1 criticising1 a friend to the ,reformation but not an apostle of it4 ,admire as we may the wit1 the reasoner1 the philosopher1 there must always be severe judgment of one who professing to love truth declared that he had no inclination to die for it4 ,there are many who without the intellect of ,erasmus would fain be thought catholic in his company4 ,large is the family of ,meroz1 and little thought have they of any ban lying upon them4 ,is it a fanciful danger1 a mere error of opinion without any peril in it1 to which we point here8 ,people think so2 young men especially think so and drift on until the day of service is past and they find themselves under the contempt of man and the judgment of ,christ4 ,lord1 when saw we ,thee a stranger or in prison and did not minister unto ,thee8 ,depart from ,me1 ,i never knew you4 #c4 ,jael1 a type of the unscrupulous helpers of a good cause4 ,long has the error prevailed that religion can be helped by using the world's weapons1 by acting in the temper and spirit of the world4 ,of that mischievous falsehood have been born all the pride and vainglory1 the rivalries and persecutions that darken the past of ,christendom1 surviving in strange and pitiful forms to the present day4 ,if we shudder at the treachery in the deed of ,jael1 what shall we say of that which through many a year sent victims to inquisition-dungeons and to the stake in the name of ,christ8 ,and what shall we say now of that moral assassination which in one tent and another is thought no sin against humanity1 but a service of ,god8 ,among us are too many who suffer wounds keen and festering that have been given in the house of their friends1 yea1 in the name of the one ,lord and ,master4 ,the battle of truth is a frank and honourable fight1 served at no point by what is false or proud or low4 ,to an enemy a ,christian should be chivalrous and surely no less to a brother4 ,granting that a man is in error1 he needs a physician not an executioner2 he needs an example not a dagger4 ,how much farther do we get by the methods of opprobrium and cruelty1 the innuendo and the whisper of suspicion8 ,besides1 it is not the ,siseras to-day who are dealt with after this manner4 ,it is the schismatic within the camp on whom some ,jael falls with a hammer and a nail4 ,if a church cannot stand by itself1 approved to the consciences of men1 it certainly will not be helped by a return to the temper of barbarism and the craft of the world4 ,the weapons of our warfare are not carnal1 but mighty through ,god to the casting down of strongholds4 ,x4 ,,the ,,desert ,,hordes2 ,,and ,,the ,,man ,,at ,,ophrah4 ,,judges vi4 #a-ad4 ,jabin king of ,canaan defeated and his nine hundred chariots turned into ploughshares we might expect ,israel to make at last a start in its true career4 ,the tribes have had their third lesson and should know the peril of infidelity4 ,without ,god they are weak as water4 ,will they not bind themselves now in a confederacy of faith1 suppress ,baal and ,astarte worship by stringent laws and turn their hearts to ,god and duty8 ,not yet3 not for more than a century4 ,the true reformer has yet to come4 ,deborah's work is certainly not in vain4 ,she passes through the land administering justice1 commanding the destruction of heathen altars4 ,the people leave their occupations and gather in crowds to hear her2 they shout1 in answer to her appeals1 ,jehovah is our ,king4 ,the ,levites are called to minister at the shrines4 ,for a time there is something like religion along with improving circumstances4 ,but the tide does not rise long nor far4 ,some twenty years have passed1 and what is to be seen going on throughout the land8 ,the ,hebrews have addressed themselves vigorously to their work in field and town4 ,everywhere they are breaking up new ground1 building houses1 repairing roads1 organising traffic4 ,but they are also falling into the old habit of friendly intercourse with ,canaanites1 talking with them over the prospects of the crops1 joining in their festivals of new moon and harvest4 ,in their own cities the old inhabitants of the land sacrifice to ,baal and gather about the ,asherim4 ,earnest ,israelites are indignant and call for action1 but the mass of the people are so taken up with their prosperity that they cannot be roused4 ,peace and comfort in the lower region seem better than contention for anything higher4 ,in the centre of ,palestine there is a coalition of ,hebrew and ,canaanite cities1 with ,shechem at their head1 which recognize ,baal as their patron and worship him as the master of their league4 ,and in the northern tribes generally ,jehovah has scant acknowledgment2 the people see no great task ,he has given them to do4 ,if they live and multiply and inherit the land they reckon their function as ,his nation to be fulfilled4 ,it is a temptation common to men to consider their own existence and success a sort of ,divine end in serving which they do all that ,god requires of them4 ,the business of mere living and making life comfortable absorbs them so that even faith finds its only use in promoting their own happiness4 ,the circle of the year is filled with occupations4 ,when the labour of the field is over there are the houses and cities to enlarge1 to improve and furnish with means of safety and enjoyment4 ,one task done and the advantage of it felt1 another presents itself4 ,industry takes new forms and burdens still more the energies of men4 ,education1 art1 science become possible and in turn make their demands4 ,but all may be for self1 and ,god may be thought of merely as the great ,patron satisfied with ,his tithes4 ,in this way the impulses and hopes of faith are made the ministers of egoism1 and as a national thing the maintenance of law1 goodwill1 and a measure of purity may seem to furnish religion with a sufficient object4 ,but this is far from enough4 ,let worship be refined and elaborated1 let great temples be built and thronged1 let the arts of music and painting be employed in raising devotion to its highest pitch--still if nothing beyond self is seen as the aim of existence1 if national ,christianity realizes no duty to the world outside1 religion must decay4 ,neither a man nor a people can be truly religious without the missionary spirit1 and that spirit must constantly shape individual and collective life4 ,among ourselves worship would petrify and faith wither were it not for the tasks the church has undertaken at home and abroad4 ,but half-understood1 half-discharged1 these duties keep us alive4 ,and it is because the great mission of ,christians to the world is not even yet comprehended that we have so much practical atheism4 ,when less care and thought are expended on the forms of worship and the churches address themselves to the true ritual of our religion1 carrying out the redeeming work of our ,saviour1 there will be new fervour2 unbelief will be swept away4 ,israel losing sight of its mission and its destiny felt no need of faith and lost it2 and with the loss of faith came loss of vigour and alertness as on other occasions4 ,having no sense of a common purpose great enough to demand their unity the ,hebrews were again unable to resist enemies1 and this time the ,midianites and other wild tribes of the eastern desert found their opportunity4 ,first some bands of them came at the time of harvest and made raids on the cultivated districts4 ,but year by year they ventured farther in increasing numbers4 ,finally they brought their tents and families1 their flocks and herds1 and took possession4 ,in the case of all who fall away from the purpose of life the means of bringing failure home to them and restoring the balance of justice are always at hand4 ,let a man neglect his fields and nature is upon him2 weeds choke his crops1 his harvests diminish1 poverty comes like an armed man4 ,in trade likewise carelessness brings retribution4 ,so in the case of ,israel3 although the ,canaanites had been subdued other foes were not far away4 ,and the business of this nation was of so sacred a kind that neglect of it meant great moral fault and every fresh relapse into earthliness and sensuality after a revival of religion implied more serious guilt4 ,we find accordingly a proportionate severity in the punishment4 ,now the nation is chastised with whips1 but next time it is with scorpions4 ,now the iron chariots of ,sisera hold the land in terror2 then hosts of marauders spread like locusts over the country1 insatiable1 all-devouring4 ,do the ,hebrews think that careful tilling of their fields and the making of wine and oil are their chief concern8 ,in that they shall be undeceived4 ,not mainly to be good husbandmen and vine-dressers are they set here1 but to be a light in the midst of the nations4 ,if they cease to shine they shall no longer enjoy4 ,it was by the higher fords of ,jordan1 perhaps north of the ,sea of ,galilee1 that the ,midianites fell on western ,canaan4 ,under their two great emirs ,zebah and ,zalmunna1 who seem to have held a kind of barbaric state1 troops of riders on swift horses and dromedaries swept the shore of the lake and burst into the plain of ,jezreel4 ,there were no doubt many skirmishes between their squadrons and the men of ,naphtali and ,manasseh4 ,but one horde of the invaders followed another so quickly and their attacks were so sudden and fierce that at length resistance became impossible1 the ,hebrews had to betake themselves to the heights and dwell in the caves and rocks4 ,once in the desert under ,moses they had been more than a match for these ,arabs4 ,now1 although on vantage ground moral and natural1 fighting for their hearths and homes behind the breastwork of lake1 river and mountain1 they are completely routed4 ,between the circumstances of this oppressed nation and the present state of the church there is a wide interval1 and in a sense the contrast is striking4 ,is not the ,christianity of our time strong and able to hold its own8 ,is not the mood of many churches of the present day properly that of elation8 ,as year after year reports of numerical increase and larger contributions are made1 as finer buildings are raised for the purposes of worship and work at home and abroad is carried on more efficiently1 is it not impossible to trace any resemblance between the state of ,israel during the ,midianite oppression and the state of religion now8 ,why should there be any fear that ,baal-worship or other idolatry should weaken the tribes1 or that marauders from the desert should settle in their land8 ,and yet the condition of things to-day is not quite unlike that of ,israel at the time we are considering4 ,there are ,canaanites who dwell in the land and carry on their debasing worship4 ,these too are days when guerilla troops of naturalism1 nomads of the primaeval desert1 are sweeping the region of faith4 ,reckless and irresponsible talk in periodicals and on platforms2 novels1 plays and verses often as clever as they are unscrupulous are incidents of the invasion1 and it is well advanced4 ,not for the first time is a raid of this kind made on the territory of faith1 but the serious thing now is the readiness to give way1 the want of heart and power to resist that we observe in family life and in society as well as in literature4 ,where resistance ought to be eager and firm it is often ignorant1 hesitating1 lukewarm4 ,perhaps the invasion must become more confident and more injurious before it rouses the people of ,god to earnest and united action4 ,perhaps those who will not submit may have to betake themselves to the caves of the mountains while the new barbarism establishes itself in the rich plain4 ,it has almost come to this in some countries2 and it may be that the pride of those who have been content to cultivate their vineyards for themselves alone1 the security of those who have too easily concluded that fighting was over shall yet be startled by some great disaster4 ,israel was brought very low because of ,midian4 ,a traveller's picture of the present state of things on the eastern frontier of ,bashan enables us to understand the misery to which the tribes were reduced by seven years of rapine4 ,not only is the country--plain and hill-side alike--chequered with fenced fields1 but groves of fig-trees are here and there seen and terraced vineyards still clothe the sides of some of the hills4 ,these are neglected and wild but not fruitless4 ,they produce great quantities of figs and grapes which are rifled year after year by the ,bedawin in their periodical raids4 ,nowhere on earth is there such a melancholy example of tyranny1 rapacity and misrule as here4 ,fields1 pastures1 vineyards1 houses1 villages1 cities are all alike deserted and waste4 ,even the few inhabitants that have hid themselves among the rocky fastnesses and mountain defiles drag out a miserable existence1 oppressed by robbers of the desert on the one hand and robbers of the government on the other4 ,the ,midianites of ,gideon's time acted the part both of tyrants and depredators4 ,they left no sustenance for ,israel1 neither sheep nor ox nor ass4 ,they entered into the land for to destroy it4 ,and the children of ,israel cried unto the ,lord2 the prodigals bethought them of their ,father4 ,having come to the husks they remembered ,him who fed ,his people in the desert4 ,again the wheel has revolved and from the lowest point there is an upward movement4 ,the tribes of ,god look once more towards the hills from whence their help cometh4 ,and here is seen the importance of that faith which had passed into the nation's life4 ,although it was not of a very spiritual kind1 yet it preserved in the heart of the people a recuperative power4 ,the majority knew little more of ,jehovah than ,his name4 ,but the name suggested availing succour4 ,they turned to the ,awful ,name1 repeated it and urged their need4 ,here and there one saw ,god as the infinitely righteous and holy and added to the wail of the ignorant a more devout appeal1 recognizing the evils under which the people groaned as punitive and knowing that the very ,god to ,whom they cried had brought the ,midianites upon them4 ,in the prayer of such a one there was an outlook towards holier and nobler life4 ,but even in the case of the ignorant the cry to ,one higher than the highest had help in it4 ,for when that bitter cry was raised self-glorifying had ceased and piety begun4 ,ignorant indeed is much of the faith that still expresses itself in so-called ,christian prayer1 almost as ignorant as that of the disconsolate ,hebrew tribes4 ,the moral purpose of discipline1 the ,divine ordinances of defeat and pain and affliction are a mystery unread4 ,the man in extremity does not know why his hour of abject fear has come1 nor see that one by one all the stays of his selfish life have been removed by a ,divine hand4 ,his cry is that of a foolish child4 ,yet is it not true that such a prayer revives hope and gives new energy to the languid life8 ,it may be many years since prayer was tried1 not perhaps since he who is now past his meridian knelt at a mother's knee4 ,still as he names the name of ,god1 as he looks upward1 there comes with the dim vision of an ,omnipotent ,helper within reach of his cry the sense of new possibilities1 the feeling that amidst the miry clay or the heaving waves there is something firm and friendly on which he may yet stand4 ,it is a striking fact as to any kind of religious belief1 even the most meagre1 that it does for man what nothing else can do4 ,prayer must cease1 we are told1 for it is mere superstition4 ,without denying that much of what is called prayer is an expression of egotism1 we must demand an explanation of the unique value it has in human life and a sufficient substitute for the habit of appeal to ,god4 ,those who would deprive us of prayer must first re-make man1 for to the strong and enlightened prayer is necessary as well as to the weak and ignorant4 ,the ,heavenly is the only hope of the earthly4 ,that we understand ,god is1 after all1 not the chief thing3 but does ,he know us8 ,is ,he there1 above yet beside us1 for ever8 ,the first answer to the cry of ,israel came in the message of a prophet1 one who would have been despised by the nation in its self-sufficient mood but now obtained a hearing4 ,his words brought instruction and made it possible for faith to move and work along a definite line4 ,through man's struggle ,god helps him2 through man's thought and resolve ,god speaks to him4 ,he is already converted when he believes enough to pray1 and from this point faith saves by animating and guiding the strenuous will4 ,the ignorant abject people of ,god learns from the prophet that something is to be done4 ,there is a command1 repeated from ,sinai1 against the worship of heathen gods1 then a call to love the true ,god the ,deliverer of ,israel4 ,faith is to become life1 and life faith4 ,the name of ,jehovah which has stood for one power among others is clearly re-affirmed as that of the ,one ,divine ,being1 the only ,object of adoration4 ,israel is convicted of sin and set on the way of obedience4 ,the answer to prayer lies very near to him who cries for salvation4 ,he has not to move a step4 ,he has but to hear the inner voice of conscience4 ,is there a sense of neglect of duty1 a sense of disobedience1 of faults committed8 ,the first movement towards salvation is set up in that conviction and in the hope that the evil now seen may be remedied4 ,forgiveness is implied in this hope1 and it will become assured as the hope grows strong4 ,the mistake is often made of supposing that answer to prayer does not come till peace is found4 ,in reality the answer begins when the will is bent towards a better life1 though that change may be accompanied by the deepest sorrow and self-humiliation4 ,a man who earnestly reproaches himself for despising and disobeying ,god has already received the grace of the redeeming ,spirit4 ,but to ,israel's cry there was another answer4 ,when repentance was well begun and the tribes turned from the heathen rites which separated them from each other and from ,divine thoughts1 freedom again became possible and ,god raised up a liberator4 ,repentance indeed was not thorough2 therefore a complete national reformation was not accomplished4 ,yet as against ,midian1 a mere horde of marauders1 the balance of righteousness and power inclined now in behalf of ,israel4 ,the time was ripe and in the providence of ,god the fit man received his call4 ,south-west from ,shechem1 among the hills of ,manasseh at ,ophrah of the ,abiezrites1 lived a family that had suffered keenly at the hands of ,midian4 ,some members of the family had been slain near ,tabor1 and the rest had as a cause of war not only the constant robberies from field and homestead but also the duty of blood-revenge4 ,the deepest sense of injury1 the keenest resentment fell to the share of one ,gideon1 son of ,joash1 a young man of nobler temper than most ,hebrews of the time4 ,his father was head of a ,thousand2 and as he was an idolater the whole clan joined him in sacrificing to the ,baal whose altar stood within the boundary of his farm4 ,already ,gideon appears to have turned with loathing from that base worship2 and he was pondering earnestly the cause of the pitiful state into which ,israel had fallen4 ,but the circumstances perplexed him4 ,he was not able to account for facts in accordance with faith4 ,in a retired place on the hillside where a winepress has been fashioned in a hollow of the rocks we first see the future deliverer of ,israel4 ,his task for the day is that of threshing out some wheat so that1 as soon as possible1 the grain may be hid from the ,midianites2 and he is busy with the flail1 thinking deeply1 watching carefully as he plies the instrument with a sense of irksome restraint4 ,look at him and you are struck with his stalwart proportions and his bearing3 he is like the son of a king4 ,observe more closely and the fire of a troubled yet resolute soul will be seen in his eye4 ,he represents the best ,hebrew blood1 the finest spirit and intelligence of the nation2 but as yet he is a strong man bound4 ,he would fain do something to deliver ,israel2 he would fain trust ,jehovah to sustain him in striking a blow for liberty2 but the way is not clear4 ,indignation and hope are baffled4 ,in a pause of his work1 as he glances across the valley with anxious eye1 suddenly he sees under an oak a stranger sitting staff in hand1 as if he had sought rest for a little in the shade4 ,gideon scans the visitor keenly1 but finding no cause for alarm bends again to his labour4 ,the next time he looks up the stranger is beside him and words of salutation are falling from his lips--,jehovah is with thee1 thou mighty man of valour4 ,to ,gideon the words did not seem so strange as they would have seemed to some4 ,yet what did they mean8 ,jehovah with him8 ,strength and courage he is aware of4 ,sympathy with his fellow-,israelites and the desire to help them he feels4 ,but these do not seem to him proofs of ,jehovah's presence4 ,and as for his father's house and the ,hebrew people1 ,god seems far from them4 ,harried and oppressed they are surely ,god-forsaken4 ,gideon can only wonder at the unseasonable greeting and ask what it means4 ,unconsciousness of ,god is not rare4 ,men do not attribute their regret over wrong1 their faint longing for the right to a spiritual presence within them and a ,divine working4 ,the ,unseen appears so remote1 man appears so shut off from intercourse with any supernatural ,cause or ,source that he fails to link his own strain of thought with the ,eternal4 ,the word of ,god is nigh him even in his heart1 ,god is closer to him than breathing1 nearer than hands and feet4 ,hope1 courage1 will1 life--these are ,divine gifts1 but he does not know it4 ,even in our ,christian times the old error which makes ,god external1 remote1 entirely aloof from human experience survives and is more common than true faith4 ,we conceive ourselves separated from the ,divine1 with springs of thought1 purpose and power in our own being1 whereas there is in us no absolute origin of power moral intellectual or physical4 ,we live and move in ,god3 ,he is our ,source and our ,stay1 and our being is shot through and through with rays of the ,eternal4 ,the prophetic word spoken in our ear is not more assuredly from ,god than the pure wish or unselfish hope that frames itself in our minds or the stern voice of conscience heard in the soul4 ,as for the trouble into which we fall1 that too1 did we understand aright1 is a mark of ,god's providential care4 ,would we err without discipline8 ,would we be ineffective and have no bracing8 ,would we follow lies and enjoy a false peace8 ,would we refuse the ,divine path to strength yet never feel the sorrow of the weak8 ,are these the proofs of ,god's presence our ignorance would desire8 ,then indeed we imagine an unholy one1 an unfaithful one upon the throne of the universe4 ,but ,god has no favourites2 ,he does not rule like a despot of earth for courtiers and an aristocracy4 ,in righteousness and for righteousness1 for eternal truth ,he works1 and for that ,his people must endure4 ,jehovah is with thee3 so ran the salutation4 ,gideon thinking of ,jehovah does not wonder to hear ,his name4 ,but full of doubts natural to one so little instructed he feels himself bound to express them3 ,why is all this evil befallen us8 ,hath not ,jehovah cast us off and delivered us into the hand of ,midian8 ,unconstrainedly1 plainly as man to man ,gideon speaks1 the burdensome thought of his people's misery overcoming the strangeness of the fact that in a ,god-forsaken land any one should care to speak of things like these4 ,yet momentarily as the conversation proceeds there grows in ,gideon's soul a feeling of awe1 a new and penetrating idea4 ,the look fastened upon him conveys beside the human strain of will a suggestion of highest authority2 the words1 ,go in this thy might and save ,israel1 have not ,i sent thee8 kindle in his heart a vivid faith4 ,laid hold of1 lifted above himself1 the young man is made aware at last of the ,living ,god1 ,his presence1 ,his will4 ,jehovah's representative has done his mediatorial work4 ,gideon desires a sign2 but his wish is a note of habitual caution1 not of disbelief1 and in the sacrifice he finds what he needs4 ,now1 why insist as some do on that which is not affirmed in the text8 ,the form of the narrative must be interpreted3 and it does not require us to suppose that ,jehovah ,himself1 incarnate1 speaking human words1 is upon the scene4 ,the call is from ,him1 and indeed ,gideon has already a prepared heart1 or he would not listen to the messenger4 ,but seven times in the brief story the word ,malakh marks a commissioned servant as clearly as the other word ,jehovah marks the ,divine will and revelation4 ,after the man of ,god has vanished from the hill swiftly1 strangely1 in the manner of his coming1 ,gideon remains alive to ,jehovah's immediate presence and voice as he never was before4 ,humble and shrinking--forasmuch as ,i have seen the angel of the ,lord face to face--he yet hears the ,divine benediction fall from the sky1 and following that a fresh and immediate summons4 ,whether from the tabernacle at ,shiloh an acknowledged prophet came to the brooding ,abiezrite1 or the visitor was one who concealed his own name and haunt that ,jehovah might be the more impressively recognised1 it matters not4 ,the angel of the ,lord made ,gideon thrill with a call to highest duty1 opened his ears to heavenly voices and then left him4 ,after this he felt ,god to be with himself4 ,the ,lord looked upon ,gideon and said1 ,go in this thy might and save ,israel from the hand of ,midian3 have not ,i sent thee8 ,it was a summons to stern and anxious work1 and the young man could not be sanguine4 ,he had considered and re-considered the state of things so long1 he had so often sought a way of liberating his people and found none that he needed a clear indication how the effort was to be made4 ,would the tribes follow him1 the youngest of an obscure family in ,manasseh8 ,and how was he to stir1 how to gather the people8 ,he builds an altar1 ,jehovah-shalom2 he enters into covenant with the ,eternal in high and earnest resolution1 and with a sudden flash of prophet sight he sees the first thing to do4 ,baal's altar in the high place of ,ophrah must be overthrown4 ,thereafter it will be known what faith and courage are to be found in ,israel4 ,it is the call of ,god that ripens a life into power1 resolve1 fruitfulness--the call and the response to it4 ,continually the ,bible urges upon us this great truth1 that through the keen sense of a close personal relation to ,god and of duty owing to ,him the soul grows and comes to its own4 ,our human personality is created in that way and in no other4 ,there are indeed lives which are not so inspired and yet appear strong2 an ingenious resolute selfishness gives them momentum4 ,but this individuality is akin to that of ape or tiger2 it is a part of the earth-force in yielding to which a man forfeits his proper being and dignity4 ,look at ,napoleon1 the supreme example in history of this failure4 ,a great genius1 a striking character8 ,only in the carnal region1 for human personality is moral1 spiritual1 and the most triumphant cunning does not make a man2 while on the other hand from a very moderate endowment put to the glorious usury of ,god's service will grow a soul clear1 brave and firm1 precious in the ranks of life4 ,let a human being1 however ignorant and low1 hear and answer the ,divine summons and in that place a man appears1 one who stands related to the source of strength and light4 ,and when a man roused by such a call feels responsibility for his country1 for religion1 the hero is astir4 ,something will be done for which mankind waits4 ,but heroism is rare4 ,we do not often commune with ,god nor listen with eager souls for ,his word4 ,the world is always in need of men1 but few appear4 ,the usual is worshipped2 the pleasure and profit of the day occupy us2 even the sight of the cross does not rouse the heart4 ,speak1 ,heavenly ,word6 and quicken our clay4 ,let the thunders of ,sinai be heard again1 and then the still small voice that penetrates the soul4 ,so shall heroism be born and duty done1 and the dead shall live4 ,,xi4 ,,gideon1 ,,iconoclast ,,and ,,reformer4 ,,judges vi4 #ae-cb4 ,the ,lord is with thee1 thou mighty man of valour3--so has the prophetic salutation come to the young man at the threshing-floor of ,ophrah4 ,it is a personal greeting and call--with thee--just what a man needs in the circumstances of ,gideon4 ,there is a nation to be saved1 and a human leader must act for ,jehovah4 ,is ,gideon fit for so great a task8 ,a wise humility1 a natural fear have held him under the yoke of daily toil until this hour4 ,now the needed signs are given2 his heart leaps up in the pulses of a longing which ,god approves and blesses4 ,the criticism of kinsfolk1 the suspicious carping of neighbours1 the easily affronted pride of greater families no longer crush patriotic desire and overbear yearning faith4 ,the ,lord is with thee1 ,gideon1 youngest son of ,joash1 the toiler in obscure fields4 ,go in this thy might2 be strong in ,jehovah4 ,but the assurance must widen if it is to satisfy4 ,with me--that is a great thing for ,gideon2 that gives him free air to breathe and strength to use the sword4 ,but can it be true8 ,can ,god be with one only in the land8 ,he seems to have forsaken ,israel and sold ,his people to the oppressor4 ,unless ,he returns to all in forgiveness and grace nothing can be done2 a renewal of the nation is the first thing1 and this ,gideon desires4 ,comfort for himself1 freedom from ,midianite vexation for himself and his father's house would be no satisfaction if1 all around1 he saw ,israel still crushed under heathen hordes4 ,to have a hand in delivering his people from danger and sorrow is ,gideon's craving4 ,the assurance given to himself personally is welcome because in it there is a sound as of the beginning of ,israel's redemption4 ,yet if the ,,lord be with us1 why then is all this befallen us8 ,god cannot be with the tribes1 for they are harassed and spoiled by enemies1 they lie prone before the altars of ,baal4 ,there is here an example of largeness in heart and mind which we ought not to miss1 especially because it sets before us a principle often unrecognised4 ,it is clear enough that ,gideon could not enjoy freedom unless his country was free1 for no man can be safe in an enslaved land2 but many fail to see that spiritual redemption in like manner cannot be enjoyed by one unless others are moving towards the light4 ,truly salvation is personal at first and personal at last2 but it is never an individual affair only4 ,each for himself must hear and answer the ,divine call to repentance2 each as a moral unit must enter the strait gate1 press along the narrow way of life1 agonize and overcome4 ,but the redemption of one soul is part of a vast redeeming purpose1 and the fibres of each life are interwoven with those of other lives far and wide4 ,spiritual brotherhood is a fact but faintly typified by the brotherhood of the ,hebrews1 and the struggling soul to-day1 like ,gideon's long ago1 must know ,god as the ,saviour of all men before a personal hope can be enjoyed worth the having4 ,as ,gideon showed himself to have the ,lord with him by a question charged not with individual anxiety but with keen interest in the nation1 so a man now is seen to have the ,spirit of ,god as he exhibits a passion for the regeneration of the world4 ,salvation is enlargement of soul1 devotion to ,god and to man for the sake of ,god4 ,if anyone thinks he is saved while he bears no burdens for others1 makes no steady effort to liberate souls from the tyranny of the false and the vile1 he is in fatal error4 ,the salvation of ,christ plants always in men and women ,his mind1 ,his law of life1 ,who is the ,brother and ,friend of all4 ,and the church of ,christ must be filled with ,his ,spirit1 animated by ,his law of life1 or be unworthy the name4 ,it exists to unite men in the quest and realization of highest thought and purest activity4 ,the church truly exists for all men1 not simply for those who appear to compose it4 ,salvation and peace are with the church as with the individual believer1 but only as her heart is generous1 her spirit simple and unselfish4 ,doubtful and distressed as ,gideon was the church of ,christ should never be1 for to her has been whispered the secret that the ,abiezrite had not read1 how the ,lord is in the oppression and pain of the people1 in the sorrow and the cloud4 ,nor is a church to suppose that salvation can be hers while she thinks of any outside with the least touch of ,pharisaism1 denying their share in ,christ4 ,better no visible church than one claiming exclusive possession of truth and grace2 better no church at all than one using the name of ,christ for privilege and excommunication1 restricting the fellowship of life to its own enclosure4 ,but with utmost generosity and humaneness goes the clear perception that ,god's service is the sternest of campaigns1 beginning with resolute protest and decisive deed1 and ,gideon must rouse himself to strike for ,israel's liberty first against the idol-worship of his own village4 ,there stands the altar of ,baal1 the symbol of ,israel's infidelity2 there beside it the abominable ,asherah1 the sign of ,israel's degradation4 ,already he has thought of demolishing these1 but has never summoned courage1 never seen that the result would justify him4 ,for such a deed there is a time1 and before the time comes the bravest man can only reap discomfiture4 ,now1 with the warrant in his soul1 the duty on his conscience1 ,gideon can make assault on a hateful superstition4 ,the idolatrous altar and false worship of one's own clan1 of one's own family--these need courage to overturn and1 more than courage1 a ripeness of time and a ,divine call4 ,a man must be sure of himself and his motives1 for one thing1 before he takes upon him to be the corrector of errors that have seemed truth to his fathers and are maintained by his friends4 ,suppose people are actually worshipping a false god1 a world-power which has long held rule among them4 ,if one would act the part of iconoclast the question is1 ,by what right8 ,is he himself clear of illusion and idolatry8 ,has he a better system to put in place of the old8 ,he may be acting in mere bravado and self-display1 flourishing opinions which have less sincerity than those which he assails4 ,there were men in ,israel who had no commission and could have claimed no right to throw down ,baal's altar1 and taking upon them such a deed would have had short shrift at the hands of the people of ,ophrah4 ,and so there are plenty among us who if they set up to be judges of their fellow-men and of beliefs which they call false1 even when these are false1 deserve simply to be put down with a strong hand4 ,there are voices1 professing to be those of zealous reformers1 whose every word and tone are insults4 ,the men need to go and learn the first lessons of truth1 modesty and earnestness4 ,and this principle applies all round--to many who assail modern errors as well as to many who assail established beliefs4 ,on the one hand1 are men anxious to uphold the true faith8 ,it is well4 ,but anxiety and the best of motives do not qualify them to attack science1 to denounce all rationalism as godless4 ,we want defenders of the faith who have a ,divine calling to the task in the way of long study and a heavenly fairness of mind1 so that they shall not offend and hurt religion more by their ignorant vehemence than they help it by their zeal4 ,on the other hand1 by what authority do they speak who sneer at the ignorance of faith and would fain demolish the altars of the world8 ,it is no slight equipment that is needed4 ,fluent sarcasm1 confident worldliness1 even a large acquaintance with the dogmas of science will not suffice4 ,a man needs to prove himself a wise and humane thinker1 he needs to know by experience and deep sympathy those perpetual wants of our race which ,christ knew and met to the uttermost4 ,some facile admiration of ,jesus of ,nazareth does not give the right to free criticism of ,his life and words1 or of the faith based upon them4 ,and if the plea is a rare respect for truth1 an unusual fidelity to fact1 humanity will still ask of its would-be liberator on what fields he has won his rank or what yoke he has borne4 ,successful men especially will find it difficult to convince the world that they have a right to strike at the throne of ,him who stood alone before the ,roman ,pilate and died on the ,cross4 ,gideon was not unfit to render high service4 ,he was a young man tried in humble duty and disciplined in common tasks1 shrewd but not arrogant1 a person of clear mind and a patriot4 ,the people of the farm and a good many in ,ophrah had learned to trust him and were prepared to follow when he struck out a new path4 ,he had ,god's call and also his own past to help him4 ,hence when ,gideon began his undertaking1 although to attempt it in broad day would have been rash and he must act under cover of darkness1 he soon found ten men to give their aid4 ,no doubt he could in a manner command them1 for they were his servants4 ,still a business of the kind he proposed was likely to rouse their superstitious fears1 and he had to conquer these4 ,it was also sure to involve the men in some risk1 and he must have been able to give them confidence in the issue4 ,this he did1 however1 and they went forth4 ,very quietly the altar of ,baal was demolished and the great wooden mast1 hateful symbol of ,astarte1 was cut down and split in pieces4 ,such was the first act in the revolution4 ,we observe1 however1 that ,gideon does not leave ,ophrah without an altar and a sacrifice4 ,destroy one system without laying the foundation of another that shall more than equal it in essential truth and practical power1 and what sort of deliverance have you effected8 ,men will rightly execrate you4 ,it is no reformation that leaves the heart colder1 the life barer and darker than before2 and those who move in the night against superstition must be able to speak in the day of a ,living ,god who will vindicate ,his servants4 ,it has been said over and over again and must yet be repeated1 to overturn merely is no service4 ,they that break down need some vision at least of a building up1 and it is the new edifice that is the chief thing4 ,the world of thought to-day is infested with critics and destroyers and may well be tired of them4 ,it is too much in need of constructors to have any thanks to spare for new ,voltaires and ,humes4 ,let us admit that demolition is the necessity of some hours4 ,we look back on the ruins of ,bastilles and temples that served the uses of tyranny1 and even in the domain of faith there have been fortresses to throw down and ramparts that made evil separations among men4 ,but destruction is not progress2 and if the end of modern thought is to be agnosticism1 the denial of all faith and all ideals1 then we are simply on the way to something not a whit better than primeval ignorance4 ,the morning sun showed the gap upon the hill where the symbols had stood of ,baal and ,astarte1 and soon like an angry swarm of bees the people were buzzing round the scattered stones of the old altar and the rough new pile with its smoking sacrifice4 ,where was he who ventured to rebuke the city8 ,very indignant1 very pious are these false ,israelites4 ,they turn on ,joash with the fierce demand1 ,bring out thy son that he may die4 ,but the father too has come to a decision4 ,we get a hint of the same nature as ,gideon's1 slow1 but firm when once roused2 and if anything would rouse a man it would be this brutal passion1 this sudden outbreak of cruelty nursed by heathen custom1 his own conscience meanwhile testifying that ,gideon was right4 ,tush6 says ,joash1 will you plead for ,baal8 ,will you save him8 ,is it necessary for you to defend one whom you have worshipped as ,lord of heaven8 ,let him ply his lightnings if he has any4 ,i am tired of this ,baal who has no principles and is good only for feast-days4 ,he that pleads for ,baal1 let him be the man to die4--,unexpected apology1 serious too and unanswerable4 ,conscience that seemed dead is suddenly awakened and carries all before it4 ,there is a quick conversion of the whole town because one man has acted decisively and another speaks strong words which cannot be gainsaid4 ,to be sure ,joash uses a threat--hints something of taking a very short method with those who still protest for ,baal2 and that helps conversion4 ,but it is force against force1 and men cannot object who have themselves talked of killing4 ,by a rapid popular impulse ,gideon is justified1 and with the new name ,jerubbaal he is acknowledged as a leader in ,manasseh4 ,false religion is not always so easily exposed and upset4 ,truth may be so mixed with the error of a system that the moral sense is confused and faith clings to the follies and lies conjoined with the truth4 ,and when we look at ,judaism in contact with ,christianity1 at ,romanism in contact with the ,protestant spirit1 we see how difficult it may be to liberate faith4 ,the ,apostle ,paul wielding the weapon of a singular and keen eloquence cannot overcome the ,pharisaism of his countrymen4 ,at ,antioch1 at ,iconium he does his utmost with scant success4 ,the ,protestant reformation did not so swiftly and thoroughly establish itself in every ,european country as in ,scotland4 ,where there is no pressure of outward circumstances forcing new religious ideas upon men there must be all the more a spirit of independent thought if any salutary change is to be made in creed and worship4 ,either there must be men of ,berea who search the ,scriptures daily1 men of ,zurich and ,berne with the energy of free citizens1 or reformation must wait on some political emergency4 ,and in effect conscience rarely has free play1 since men are seldom manly but more or less like sheep4 ,hence the value1 as things go in this world1 of leaders like ,joash1 princes like ,luther's ,elector1 who give the necessary push to the undecided and check forward opponents by a significant warning4 ,it is not the ideal way of reforming the world1 but it has often answered well enough within limits4 ,there are also cases in which the threats of the enemy have done good service1 as when the appearance of the ,spanish ,armada on the ,english coast did more to confirm the ,protestantism of the country than many years of peaceful argument4 ,in truth were there not occasionally something like master-strokes in ,providence the progress of humanity would be almost imperceptible4 ,men and nations are urged on although they have no great desire to advance2 they are committed to a voyage and cannot return2 they are caught in currents and must go where the currents bear them4 ,certainly in such cases there is not the ardour1 and men cannot reap the reward belonging to the thinkers and brave servants of the truth4 ,practically whether ,protestants or ,romanists they are spiritually inert4 ,still it is well for them1 well for the world1 that a strong hand should urge them forward1 since otherwise they would not move at all4 ,of many in all churches it must be said they are not victors in a fight of faith1 they do not work out their own salvation4 ,yet they are guided1 warned1 persuaded into a certain habit of piety and understanding of truth1 and their children have a new platform somewhat higher than their fathers' on which to begin life4 ,at ,ophrah of the ,abiezrites1 though we cannot say much for the nature of the faith in ,god which has replaced idolatry1 still the way is prepared for further and decisive action4 ,men do not cease from worshipping ,baal and become true servants of the ,most ,holy in a single day2 that requires time4 ,there are better possibilities1 but ,gideon cannot teach the way of ,jehovah1 nor is he in the mood for religious inquiry4 ,the conversion of ,abiezer is quite of the same sort as in early ,christian times was effected when a king went over to the new faith and ordered his subjects to be baptized4 ,not even ,gideon knows the value of the faith to which the people have returned1 in the strength of which they are to fight4 ,they will be bold now1 for even a little trust in ,god goes a long way in sustaining courage4 ,they will face the enemy now to whom they have long submitted4 ,but of the purity and righteousness into which the faith of ,jehovah should lead them they have no vision4 ,now with this in view many will think it strange to hear of the conversion of ,abiezer4 ,it is a great error however to despise the day of small things4 ,god gives it and we ought to understand its use4 ,conversion cannot possibly mean the same in every period of the world's history2 it cannot even mean the same in any two cases4 ,to recognise this would be to clear the ground of much that hinders the teaching and the success of the gospel4 ,where there has been long familiarity with the ,new ,testament1 the facts of ,christianity and the high spiritual ideas it presents1 conversion properly speaking does not take place till the message of ,christ to the soul stirs it to its depths1 moves alike the reason and the will and creates fervent discipleship4 ,but the history of ,israel and of humanity moves forward continuously in successive discoveries or revelations of the highest culminating in the ,christian salvation4 ,to view ,gideon as a religious reformer of the same kind as ,isaiah is quite a mistake4 ,he had scarcely an idea in common with the great prophet of a later day4 ,but the liberty he desired for his people and the association of liberty with the worship of ,jehovah made his revolution a step in the march of ,israel's redemption4 ,those who joined him with any clear purpose and sympathy were therefore converted men in a true if very limited sense4 ,there must be first the blade and then the ear before there can be the full corn4 ,we reckon ,gideon a hero of faith1 and his hope was truly in the same ,god ,whom we worship--the ,god and ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,yet his faith could not be on a level with ours1 his knowledge being far less4 ,the angel who speaks to him1 the altar he builds1 the ,spirit of the ,lord that comes upon him1 his daring iconoclasm1 the new purpose and power of the man are in a range quite above material life--and that is enough4 ,there are some circles in which honesty and truth-speaking are evidence of a work of grace4 ,to become honest and to speak truth in the fear of ,god is to be converted1 in a sense1 where things are at that pass4 ,there are people who are so cold that among them enthusiasm for anything good may be called superhuman4 ,nobody has it4 ,if it appears it must come from above4 ,but these steps of progress1 though we may describe them as supernatural1 are elementary4 ,men have to be converted again and again1 ever making one gain a step to another4 ,the great advance comes when the soul believes enthusiastically in ,christ1 pledging itself to ,him in full sight of the cross4 ,this and nothing less is the conversion we need4 ,to love freedom1 righteousness1 charity only prepares for the supreme love of ,god in ,christ1 in which life springs to its highest power and joy4 ,now are we to suppose that ,gideon alone of all the men of ,israel had the needful spirit and faith to lead the revolution8 ,was there no one but the son of ,joash8 ,we do not find him fully equipped1 nor as the years go by does he prove altogether worthy to be chief of the tribes of ,god4 ,were there not in many ,hebrew towns souls perhaps more ardent1 more spiritual than his1 needing only the prophetic call1 the touch of the ,unseen ,hand to make them aware of power and opportunity8 ,the leadership of such a one as ,moses is complete and unquestionable4 ,he is the man of the age2 knowledge1 circumstances1 genius fit him for the place he has to occupy4 ,we cannot imagine a second ,moses in the same period4 ,but in ,israel as well as among other peoples it is often a very imperfect hero who is found and followed4 ,the work is done1 but not so well done as we might think possible4 ,revolutions which begin full of promise lose their spirit because the leader reveals his weakness or even folly4 ,we feel sure that there are many who have the power to lead in thought where the world has not dreamt of climbing1 to make a clear road where as yet there is no path2 and yet to them comes no messenger1 the daily task goes on and it is not supposed that a leader1 a prophet is passed by4 ,are there no better men that ,ehud1 ,gideon1 ,jephthah must stand in the front8 ,one answer certainly is that the nation at the stage it has reached cannot as a whole esteem a better man1 cannot understand finer ideas4 ,a hundred men of more spiritual faith were possibly brooding over ,israel's state1 ready to act as fearlessly as ,gideon and to a higher issue4 ,but it could only have been after a cleansing of the nation's life1 a suppression of ,baal-worship much more rigorous than could at that time be effected4 ,and in every national crisis the thought of which the people generally are capable determines who must lead and what kind of work shall be done4 ,the reformer before his time either remains unknown or ends in eclipse2 either he gains no power or it passes rapidly from him because it has no support in popular intelligence or faith4 ,it may seem well-nigh impossible in our day for any man to fail of the work he can do2 if he has the will we think he can make the way4 ,the inward call is the necessity1 and when that is heard and the man shapes a task for himself the day to begin will come4 ,is that certain8 ,perhaps there are many now who find circumstance a web from which they cannot break away without arrogance and unfaithfulness4 ,they could speak1 they could do if ,god called them2 but does ,he call them8 ,on every side ring the fluent praises of the idols men love to worship4 ,one must indeed be deft in speech and many other arts who would hope to turn the crowd from its folly1 for it will only listen to what seizes the ear1 and the obscure thinker has not the secret of pleasing4 ,while those who see no visions lead their thousands to a trivial victory1 many an uncalled ,gideon toils on in the threshing-floor4 ,the duties of a low and narrow lot may hold a man2 the babble all around of popular voices may be so loud that nothing can make way against them4 ,a certain slowness of the humble and patient spirit may keep one silent who with little encouragement could speak words of quickening truth4 ,but the day of utterance never comes4 ,to these waiting in the market-place it is comparatively a small thing that the world will not hire them4 ,but does the church not want them8 ,where ,god is named and professedly honoured1 can it be that the smooth message is preferred because it is smooth8 ,can it be that in the church men shrink from instead of seeking the highest1 most real and vital word that can be said to them8 ,this is what oppresses1 for it seems to imply that ,god has no use in ,his vineyard for a man when ,he lets him wait long unregarded1 it seems to mean that there is no end for the wistful hope and the words that burn unspoken in the breast4 ,the unrecognized thinker has indeed to trust ,god largely4 ,he has often to be content with the assurance that what he would say but cannot as yet shall be said in good time1 that what he would do but may not shall be done by a stronger hand4 ,and further1 he may cherish a faith for himself4 ,no life can remain for ever unfruitful1 or fruitful only in its lower capacities4 ,purposes broken off here shall find fulfilment4 ,where the highways of being reach beyond the visible horizon leaders will be needed for the yet advancing host1 and the time of every soul shall come to do the utmost that is in it4 ,the day of perfect service for many of ,god's chosen ones will begin where beyond these shadows there is light and space4 ,were it not so1 some of the best lives would disappear in the darkest cloud4 ,,xii4 ,,the ,,people ,,are ,,yet ,,too ,,many4 ,,judges vi4 #cc-vii4 #g4 ,another day of hope and energy has dawned4 ,one hillside at least rises sunlit out of darkness with the altar of ,jehovah on its summit and holier sacrifices smoking there than ,israel has offered for many a year4 ,let us see what elements of promise1 what elements of danger or possible error mingle with the situation4 ,there is a man to take the lead1 a young man1 thoughtful1 bold1 energetic1 aware of a ,divine call and therefore of some endowment for the task to be done4 ,gideon believes ,jehovah to be ,israel's ,god and ,friend1 ,israel to be ,jehovah's people4 ,he has faith in the power of the ,unseen ,helper4 ,baal is nothing1 a mere name--,bosheth1 vanity4 ,jehovah is a certainty2 and what ,he wills shall come about4 ,so far strength1 confidence4 ,but of himself and the people ,gideon is not sure4 ,his own ability to gather and command an army1 the fitness of any army the tribes can supply to contend with ,midian1 these are as yet unproved4 ,only one fact stands clear1 ,jehovah the supreme ,god with ,whom are all powers and influences4 ,the rest is in shadow4 ,for one thing1 ,gideon cannot trace the connection between the ,most ,high and himself1 between the ,power that controls the world and the power that dwells in his own will or the hearts of other men4 ,yet with the first message a sign has been given1 and other tokens may be sought as events move on4 ,with that measure of uncertainty which keeps a man humble and makes him ponder his steps ,gideon finds himself acknowledged leader in ,manasseh and a centre of growing enthusiasm throughout the northern tribes4 ,for the people generally this at least may be said1 that they have wisdom enough to recognize the man of aptitude and courage though he belongs to one of the humblest families and is the least in his father's household4 ,drowning men indeed must take the help that is offered1 and ,israel is at present almost in the condition of a drowning man4 ,a little more and it will sink under the wave of the ,midianite invasion4 ,it is not a time to ask of the rank of a man who has character for the emergency4 ,and yet1 so often is the hero unacknowledged1 especially when he begins1 as ,gideon did1 with a religious stroke1 that some credit must be given to the people for their ready faith4 ,as the flame goes up from the altar at ,ophrah men feel a flash of hope and promise4 ,they turn to the ,abiezrite in trust and through him begin to trust ,god again4 ,yes3 there is a reformation of a sort1 and an honest man is at the head of it4 ,so far the signs of the time are good4 ,then the old enthusiasm is not dead4 ,almost ,israel had submitted1 but again its spirit is rising4 ,the traditions of ,deborah and ,barak1 of ,joshua1 of ,moses1 of the desert march and victories linger with those who are hiding amongst the caves and rocks4 ,songs of liberty1 promises of power are still theirs2 they feel that they should be free4 ,canaan is ,jehovah's gift to them and they will claim it4 ,so far as reviving human energy and confidence avail1 there is a germ out of which the proper life of the people of ,god may spring afresh4 ,and it is this that ,gideon as a reformer must nourish1 for the leader depends at every stage on the desires that have been kindled in the hearts of men4 ,while he goes before them in thought and plan he can only go prosperously where they intelligently1 heartily will follow4 ,opportunism is the base lagging behind with popular coldness1 as moderatism in religion is4 ,the reformer does not wait a moment when he sees an aspiration he can guide1 a spark of faith that can be fanned into flame4 ,but neither in church nor state can one man make a conquering movement4 ,and so we see the vast extent of duty and responsibility4 ,that there may be no opportunism every citizen must be alive to the morality of politics4 ,that there may be no moderatism every ,christian must be alive to the real duty of the church4 ,now have the heads of families and the chief men in ,israel been active in rallying the tribes8 ,or have the people waited on their chiefs and the chiefs coldly held back8 ,there are good elements in the situation but others not so encouraging4 ,the secular leaders have failed2 and what are the priests and ,levites doing8 ,we hear nothing of them4 ,gideon has to assume the double office of priest and ruler4 ,at ,shiloh there is an altar4 ,there too is the ark1 and surely some holy observances are kept4 ,why does ,gideon not lead the people to ,shiloh and there renew the national covenant through the ministers of the tabernacle8 ,he knows little of the moral law and the sanctities of worship2 and he is not at this stage inclined to assume a function that is not properly his4 ,yet it is unmistakable that ,ophrah has to be the religious centre4 ,ah6 clearly there is opportunism among secular leaders and moderatism among the priests4 ,and this suggests that ,judah in the south1 although the tabernacle is not in her territory1 may have an ecclesiastical reason for holding aloof now1 as in ,deborah's time she kept apart4 ,simeon and ,levi are brethren4 ,judah1 the vanguard in the desert march1 the leading tribe in the first assault on ,canaan1 has taken ,simeon into close alliance4 ,has ,levi also been almost absorbed8 ,there are signs that it may have been so4 ,the later supremacy of ,judah in religion requires early and deep root2 and we have also to explain the separation between north and south already evident1 which was but half overcome by ,david's kingship and reappeared before the end of ,solomon's reign4 ,it is very significant to read in the closing chapters of ,judges of two ,levites both of whom were connected with ,judah4 ,the ,levites were certainly respected through the whole land1 but their absence from all the incidents of the period of ,deborah1 ,gideon1 ,abimelech and ,jephthah compels the supposition that they had most affinity with ,judah and ,simeon in the south4 ,we know how people can be divided by ecclesiasticism2 and there is at least some reason to suspect that while the northern tribes were suffering and fighting ,judah went her own way enjoying peace and organizing worship4 ,such then is the state of matters so far as the tribes are concerned at the time when ,gideon sounds the trumpet in ,abiezer and sends messengers throughout ,manasseh1 ,zebulun1 ,asher and ,naphtali4 ,the tribes are partly prepared for conflict1 but they are weak and still disunited4 ,the muster of fighting men who gather at the call of ,gideon is considerable and perhaps astonishes him4 ,but the ,midianites are in enormous numbers in the plain of ,jezreel between ,moreh and ,gilboa1 having drawn together from their marauding expeditions at the first hint of a rising among the ,hebrews4 ,and now as the chief reviews his troops his early apprehension returns4 ,it is with something like dismay that he passes from band to band4 ,ill-disciplined1 ill-assorted these men do not bear the air of coming triumph4 ,gideon has too keen sight to be misled by tokens of personal popularity2 nor can he estimate success by numbers4 ,looking closely into the faces of the men he sees marks enough of hesitancy1 tokens even of fear4 ,many seem as if they had gathered like sheep to the slaughter1 not as lions ready to dash on the prey4 ,assurance of victory he cannot find in his army2 he must seek it elsewhere4 ,it is well that multitudes gather to the church to-day for worship and enter themselves as members4 ,but to reckon all such as an army contending with infidelity and wickedness--that would indeed be a mistake4 ,the mere tale of numbers gives no estimation of strength1 fighting strength1 strength to resist and to suffer4 ,it is needful clearly to distinguish between those who may be called captives of the church or vassals simply1 rendering a certain respect1 and those others1 often a very few and perhaps the least regarded1 who really fight the battles4 ,our reckoning at present is often misleading so that we occupy ground which we cannot defend4 ,we attempt to assail infidelity with an ill-disciplined host1 many of whom have no clear faith1 and to overcome worldliness by the co-operation of those who are more than half-absorbed in the pastimes and follies of the world4 ,there is need to look back to ,gideon who knew what it was to fight4 ,while we are thankful to have so many connected with the church for their own good we must not suppose that they represent aggressive strength2 on the contrary we must clearly understand that they will require no small part of the available time and energy of the earnest4 ,in short we have to count them not as helpers of the church's forward movement but as those who must be helped4 ,gideon for his work will have to make sharp division4 ,three hundred who can dash fearlessly on the enemy will be more to his purpose than two-and-thirty thousand most of whom grow pale at the thought of battle1 and he will separate by-and-by4 ,but first he seeks another sign of ,jehovah4 ,this man knows that to do anything worthy for his fellow-men he must be in living touch with ,god4 ,the idea has no more than elementary form2 but it rules4 ,he1 ,gideon1 is only an instrument1 and he must be well convinced that ,god is working through him4 ,how can he be sure8 ,like other ,israelites he is strongly persuaded that ,god appears and speaks to men through nature2 and he craves a sign in the natural world which is of ,god's making and upholding4 ,now to us the sign ,gideon asked may appear rude1 uncouth and without any moral significance4 ,a fleece which is to be wet one morning while the threshing-floor is dry1 and dry next morning while the threshing-floor is wet supplies the means of testing the ,divine presence and approval4 ,further it may be alleged that the phenomena admit of natural explanation4 ,but this is the meaning4 ,gideon providing the fleece identifies himself with it4 ,it is his fleece1 and if ,god's dew drenches it that will imply that ,god's power shall enter ,gideon's soul and abide in it even though ,israel be dry as the dusty floor4 ,the thought is at once simple and profound1 child-like and ,hebrew-like1 and carefully we must observe that it is a nature sign1 not a mere portent1 ,gideon looks for4 ,it is not whether ,god can do a certain seemingly impossible thing4 ,that would not help ,gideon4 ,but the dew represents to his mind the vigour he needs1 the vigour ,israel needs if he should fail2 and in reversing the sign1 ,let the dew be on the ground and the fleece be dry1 he seems to provide a hope even in prospect of his own failure or death4 ,gideon's appeal is for a revelation of the ,divine in the same sphere as the lightning storm and rain in which ,deborah found a triumphant proof of ,jehovah's presence2 yet there is a notable contrast4 ,we are reminded of the still small voice ,elijah heard as he stood in the cave-mouth after the rending wind and the earthquake and the lightning4 ,we remember also the image of ,hosea1 ,i will be as the dew unto ,israel4 ,there is a question in the ,book of ,job1 ,hath the rain a father8 or who hath begotten the drops of dew8 ,the faith of ,gideon makes answer1 ,thou1 ,o ,most ,high1 dost give the dews of heaven4 ,the silent distillation of the dew is profoundly symbolic of the spiritual economy and those energies that are not of this noisy world but silent and ,divine4 ,there is much of interest and meaning that lies thus beneath the surface in the story of the fleece4 ,assured that yet another step in advance may be taken1 ,gideon leads his forces northward and goes into camp beside the spring of ,harod on the slope of ,gilboa4 ,then he does what seems a strange thing for a general on the eve of battle4 ,the army is large but utterly insufficient in discipline and morale for a pitched battle with the ,midianites4 ,men who have hastily snatched their fathers' swords and pikes of which they are half afraid are not to be relied upon in the heat of a terrible struggle4 ,proclamation is therefore made that those who are fearful and trembling shall return to their homes4 ,from the entrenchment of ,israel on the hillside1 where the name ,jalid or ,gilead still survives1 the great camp of the desert people could be seen1 the black tents darkening all the valley toward the slope of ,moreh a few miles away4 ,the sight was enough to appal even the bold4 ,men thought of their families and homesteads4 ,those who had anything to lose began to re-consider and by morning only one-third of the ,hebrew army was left with the leader4 ,so perhaps it would be with thousands of ,christians if the church were again called to share the reproach of ,christ and resist unto blood4 ,under the banner of a popular ,christianity many march to stirring music who if they supposed struggle to be imminent would be tempted to leave the ranks4 ,yet the fight is actually going on4 ,camp is set against camp1 army is mingled with army2 at the front there is hot work and many are falling4 ,but in the rear it would seem to be a holiday2 men are idling1 gossiping1 chaffering as though they had come out for amusement or trade1 not at all like those who have pledged life in a great cause and have everything to win or lose4 ,and again1 in the thick of the strife1 where courage and energy are strained to the utmost1 we look round and ask whether the fearful have indeed withdrawn1 for the suspicion is forced upon us that many who call themselves ,christ's are on the other side4 ,did not some of those who are striking at us lift their hands yesterday in allegiance to the great ,captain8 ,do we not see some who have marched with us holding the very position we are to take1 bearing the very standards we must capture8 ,strangely confused is the field of battle1 and hard is it to distinguish friends from foes4 ,if the fearful would retire we should know better how we stand4 ,if the enemy were all of ,midian the issue would be clear4 ,but fearful and faint-hearted ,israelites who may be found any time actually contending against the faith are foes of a kind unknown in simpler days4 ,so frequently does something of this sort happen that every ,christian has need to ask himself whether he is clear of the offence4 ,has he ever helped to make the false world strong against the true1 the proud world strong against the meek8 ,many of those who are doubtful and go home may sooner be pardoned than he who strikes only where a certain false eclat is to be won4 ,just for a handful of silver he left us1 ,just for a riband to stick in his coat-- ,found the one gift of which fortune bereft us1 ,lost all the others she lets us devote4444 ,we shall march prospering--not thro' his presence2 ,songs may inspirit us--not from his lyre2 ,deeds will be done--while he boasts his quiescence1 ,still bidding crouch whom the rest bade aspire4 ,in the same line of thought lies another reflection4 ,the men who had hastily snatched their fathers' swords and pikes of which they were half afraid represent to us certain modern defenders of ,christianity--those who carry edged weapons of inherited doctrine with which they dare not strike home4 ,the great battle-axes of reprobation1 of eternal judgment1 of ,divine severity against sin once wielded by strong hands1 how they tremble and swerve in the grasp of many a modern dialectician4 ,the sword of the old creed1 that once like ,excalibur cleft helmets and breastplates through1 how often it maims the hands that try to use it but want alike the strength and the cunning4 ,too often we see a wavering blow struck that draws not a drop of blood nor even dints a shield1 and the next thing is that the knight has run to cover behind some old bulwark long riddled and dilapidated4 ,in the hands of these unskilled fighters too well armed for their strength the battle is worse than lost4 ,they become a laughingstock to the enemy1 an irritation to their own side4 ,it is time there was a sifting among the defenders of the faith and twenty and two thousand went back from ,gilead4 ,is the truth of ,god become mere tin or lead that no new sword can be fashioned from it1 no blade of ,damascus firm and keen8 ,are there no gospel armourers fit for the task8 ,where the doctrinal contest is maintained by men who are not to the depth of their souls sure of the creeds they found on1 by men who have no vision of the severity of ,god and the meaning of redemption1 it ends only in confusion to themselves and those who are with them4 ,ten thousand ,israelites remain who according to their own judgment are brave enough and prepared for the fight2 but the purpose of the commander is not answered yet4 ,he is resolved to have yet another winnowing that shall leave only the men of temper like his own1 men of quick intelligence no less than zeal4 ,at the foot of the hill there flows a stream of water1 and towards it ,gideon leads his diminished army as if at once to cross and attack the enemy in camp4 ,will they seize his plan and like one man act upon it8 ,only on those who do can he depend4 ,it is an effective trial4 ,with the hot work of fighting before them the water is needful to all1 but in the way of drinking men show their spirit4 ,the most kneel or lie down by the edge of the brook that by putting their lips to the water they may take a long and leisurely draught4 ,a few supply themselves in quite another way4 ,as a dog whose master is passing on with rapid strides1 coming to a pool or stream by the way stops a moment to lap a few mouthfuls of water and then is off again to his master's side1 so do these--three hundred of the ten thousand--bending swiftly down carry water to their mouths in the hollow of the hand4 ,full of the day's business they move on again before the nine thousand seven hundred have well begun to drink4 ,they separate themselves and are by ,gideon's side1 beyond the stream1 a chosen band proved fit for the work that is to be done4 ,it is no haphazard division that is made by the test of the stream4 ,there is wisdom in it1 inspiration4 ,and the ,lord said unto ,gideon1 ,by the three hundred men that lapped will ,i save you and deliver the ,midianites into thine hand4 ,many are the commonplace incidents1 the seemingly small points in life that test the quality of men4 ,every day we are led to the stream-side to show what we are1 whether eager in the ,divine enterprise of faith or slack and self-considering4 ,take any company of men and women who claim to be on the side of ,christ1 engaged and bound in all seriousness to ,his service4 ,but how many have it clearly before them that they must not entangle themselves more than is absolutely needful with bodily and sensuous cravings1 that they must not lie down to drink from the stream of pleasure and amusement8 ,we show our spiritual state by the way in which we spend our leisure1 our ,saturday afternoons1 our ,sabbaths4 ,we show whether we are fit for ,god's business by our use of the flowing stream of literature1 which to some is an opiate1 to others a pure and strengthening draught4 ,the question simply is whether we are so engaged with ,god's plan for our life1 in comprehending it1 fulfilling it1 that we have no time to dawdle and no disposition for the merely casual and trifling4 ,are we in the responsible use of our powers occupied as that ,athenian was in the service of his country of whom it is recorded3 ,there was in the whole city but one street in which ,pericles was ever seen1 the street which led to the market-place and the council-house4 ,during the whole period of his administration he never dined at the table of a friend8 ,let no one say there is not time in a world like this for social intercourse1 for literary and scientific pursuits or the practice of the arts4 ,the plan of ,god for men means life in all possible fulness and entrance into every field in which power can be gained4 ,his will for us is that we should give to the world as ,christ gave in free and uplifting ministry1 and as a man can only give what he has first made his own the ,christian is called to self-culture as full as the other duties of life will permit4 ,he cannot explore too much1 he cannot be too well versed in the thoughts and doings of men and the revelations of nature1 for all he learns is to find high use4 ,but the aim of personal enlargement and efficiency must never be forgotten1 that aim which alone makes the self of value and gives it real life--the service and glory of ,god4 ,only in view of this aim is culture worth anything4 ,and when in the providence of ,god there comes a call which requires us to pass with resolute step beyond every stream at which the mind and taste are stimulated that we may throw ourselves into the hard fight against evil there is to be no hesitation4 ,everything must yield now4 ,the comparatively small handful who press on with concentrated purpose1 making ,god's call and ,his work first and all else even their own needs a secondary affair--to these will be the honour and the joy of victory4 ,we live in a time when people are piling up object after object that needs attention and entering into engagement after engagement that comes between them and the supreme duty of existence4 ,they form so many acquaintances that every spare hour goes in visiting and receiving visits3 yet the end of life is not talk4 ,they are members of so many societies that they scarcely get at the work for which the societies exist3 yet the end of life is not organizing4 ,they see so many books1 hear so much news and criticism that truth escapes them altogether3 yet the end of life is to know and do the ,truth4 ,civilization defeats its own use when it keeps us drinking so long at this and the other spring that we forget the battle4 ,we mean to fight1 we mean to do our part1 but night falls while we are still occupied on the way4 ,yet our ,master is one who restricted the earthly life to its simplest elements because only so could spiritual energy move freely to its mark4 ,in the incidents we have been reviewing voluntary churches may find hints at least towards the justification of their principle4 ,the idea of a national church is on more than one side intelligible and valid4 ,christianity stands related to the whole body of the people1 bountiful even to those who scorn its laws1 pleading on their behalf with ,god1 keeping an open door and sending forth a perpetual call of love to the weak1 the erring1 the depraved4 ,the ideal of a national church is to represent this universal office and realize this inclusiveness of the ,christian religion2 and the charm is great4 ,on the other hand a voluntary church is the recognition of the fact that while ,christ stands related to all men it is those only who engage at expense to themselves in the labour of the gospel who can be called believers1 and that these properly constitute the church4 ,the ,hebrew people under the theocracy may represent the one ideal2 ,gideon's sifting of his army points to the other2 neither1 it must be frankly confessed1 has ever been realized4 ,large numbers may join with some intelligence in worship and avail themselves of the sacraments who have no sense of obligation as members of the kingdom and are scarcely touched by the teaching of ,christianity as to sin and salvation4 ,a separated community again1 depending on an enthusiasm which too often fails1 rarely if ever accomplishes its hope4 ,it aims at exhibiting an active and daring faith1 the militancy1 the urgency of the gospel1 and in this mission what is counted success may be a hindrance and a snare4 ,numbers grow1 wealth is acquired1 but the intensity of belief is less than it was and the sacrifices still required are not freely made4 ,nevertheless is it not plain that a society which would represent the imperative claim of ,christ to the undivided faith and loyalty of ,his followers must found upon a personal sense of obligation and personal eagerness8 ,is it not plain that a society which would represent the purity1 the unearthliness1 the rigour1 we may even say1 of ,christ's doctrine1 ,his life of renunciation and ,his cross must show a separateness from the careless world and move distinctly in advance of popular religious sentiment8 ,israel was ,god's people1 yet when a leader went forth to a work of deliverance he had to sift out the few keen and devoted spirits4 ,in truth every reformation implies a winnowing1 and he does little as a teacher or a guide who does not make division among men4 ,,xiii4 ,,midian',s ,,evil ,,day4 ,,judges vii4 #h-viii4 #ba4 ,there is now with ,gideon a select band of three hundred ready for a night attack on the ,midianites4 ,the leader has been guided to a singular and striking plan of action4 ,it is however as he well knows a daring thing to begin assault upon the immense camp of ,midian with so small a band1 even though reserves of nearly ten thousand wait to join in the struggle2 and we can easily see that the temper and spirit of the enemy were important considerations on the eve of so hazardous a battle4 ,if the ,midianites1 ,amalekites and ,children of the ,east formed a united army1 if they were prepared to resist1 if they had posted sentinels on every side and were bold in prospect of the fight1 it was necessary for ,gideon to be well aware of the facts4 ,on the other hand if there were symptoms of division in the tents of the enemy1 if there were no adequate preparations1 and especially if the spirit of doubt or fear had begun to show itself1 these would be indications that ,jehovah was preparing victory for the ,hebrews4 ,gideon is led to inquire for himself into the condition of the ,midianitish host4 ,to learn that already his name kindles terror in the ranks of the enemy will dispel his lingering anxiety4 ,jehovah said unto him 444 ,go thou with ,purah thy servant down to the camp2 and thou shalt hear what they say2 and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened4 ,the principle is that for those who are on ,god's side it is always best to know fully the nature of the opposition4 ,the temper of the enemies of religion1 those irregular troops of infidelity and unrighteousness with whom we have to contend1 is an element of great importance in shaping the course of our ,christian warfare4 ,we hear of organised vice1 of combinations great and resolute against which we have to do battle4 ,language is used which implies that the condition of the churches of ,christ contrasts pitiably with the activity and agreement of those who follow the black banners of evil4 ,a vague terror possesses many that in the conflict with vice they must face immense resources and a powerful confederacy4 ,the far-stretching encampment of the ,midianites is to all appearance organised for defence at every point1 and while the servants of ,god are resolved to attack they are oppressed by the vastness of the enterprise4 ,impiety1 sensuality1 injustice may seem to be in close alliance with each other1 on the best understanding1 fortified by superhuman craft and malice1 with their gods in their midst to help them4 ,but let us go down to the host and listen1 the state of things may be other than we have thought4 ,under cover of the night which made ,midian seem more awful the ,hebrew chief and his servant left the outpost on the slope of ,gilboa and crept from shadow to shadow across the space which separated them from the enemy1 vaguely seeking what quickly came4 ,lying in breathless silence behind some bush or wall the ,hebrews heard one relating a dream to his fellow4 ,i dreamed1 he said1 and1 lo1 a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of ,midian and came unto a tent and smote it that it fell1 and overturned it that it lay along4 ,the thoughts of the day are reproduced in the visions of the night4 ,evidently this man has had his mind directed to the likelihood of attack1 the possibility of defeat4 ,it is well known that the ,hebrews are gathering to try the issue of battle4 ,they are indeed like a barley cake such as poor ,arabs bake among ashes--a defeated famished people whose life has been almost drained away4 ,but tidings have come of their return to ,jehovah and traditions of ,his marvellous power are current among the desert tribes4 ,a confused sense of all this has shaped the dream in which the tent of the chief appears prostrate and despoiled4 ,gideon and ,purah listen intently1 and what they hear further is even more unexpected and reassuring4 ,the dream is interpreted3 ,this is nothing else save the sword of ,gideon the son of ,joash1 a man of ,israel2 for into his hand ,god hath delivered ,midian and all the host4 ,he who reads the dream knows more than the other4 ,he has the name of the ,hebrew captain4 ,he has heard of the ,divine messenger who called ,gideon to his task and assured him of victory4 ,as for the apparent strength of the host of ,midian1 he has no confidence in it for he has felt the tremor that passes through the great camp4 ,so1 lying concealed1 ,gideon hears from his enemies themselves as from ,god the promise of victory1 and full of worshipping joy hastens back to prepare for an immediate attack4 ,now in every combination of godless men there is a like feeling of insecurity1 a like presage of disaster4 ,those who are in revolt against justice1 truth and the religion of ,god have nothing on which to rest1 no enduring bond of union4 ,what do they conceive as the issue of their attempts and schemes8 ,have they anything in view that can give heart and courage2 an end worth toil and hazard8 ,it is impossible1 for their efforts are all in the region of the false where the seeming realities are but shadows that perpetually change4 ,let it be allowed that to a certain extent common interests draw together men of no principle so that they can co-operate for a time4 ,yet each individual is secretly bent on his own pleasure or profit and there is nothing that can unite them constantly4 ,one selfish and unjust person may be depended upon to conceive a lively antipathy to every other selfish and unjust person4 ,midian and ,amalek have their differences with one another1 and each has its own rival chiefs1 rival families1 full of the bitterest jealousy which at any moment may burst into flame4 ,the whole combination is weak from the beginning1 a mere horde of clashing desires incapable of harmony1 incapable of a sustaining hope4 ,in the course of our ,lord's brief ministry the insecurity of those who opposed ,him was often shown4 ,the chief priests and scribes and lawyers whispered to each other the fears and anxieties ,he aroused4 ,in the ,sanhedrin the discussion about ,him comes to the point1 ,what do we8 ,for this man doeth many signs4 ,if we let ,him thus alone1 all men will believe on ,him3 and the ,romans will come and take away both our peace and our nation4 ,the ,pharisees say among themselves1 ,perceive ye how ye prevail nothing8 ,behold the world is gone after ,him4 ,and what was the reason1 what was the cause of this weakness8 ,intense devotion to the law and the institutions of religion animated those ,israelites yet sufficed not to bind them together4 ,rival schools and claims honeycombed the whole social and ecclesiastical fabric4 ,the pride of religious ancestry and a keenly cherished ambition could not maintain peace or hope2 they were of no use against the calm authority of the ,nazarene4 ,judaism was full of the bitterness of falsehood4 ,the seeds of despair were in the minds of those who accused ,christ1 and the terrible harvest was reaped within a generation4 ,passing from this supreme evidence that the wrong can never be the strong1 look at those ignorant and unhappy persons who combine against the laws of society4 ,their suspicions of each other are proverbial1 and ever with them is the feeling that sooner or later they will be overtaken by the law4 ,they dream of that and tell each other their dreams4 ,the game of crime is played against well-known odds4 ,those who carry it on are aware that their haunts will be discovered1 their gang broken up4 ,a bribe will tempt one of their number and the rest will have to go their way to the cell or the gallows4 ,yet with the presage of defeat wrought into the very constitution of the mind and with innumerable proofs that it is no delusion1 there are always those amongst us who attempt what even in this world is so hazardous and in the larger sweep of moral economy is impossible4 ,in selfishness1 in oppression and injustice1 in every kind of sensuality men adventure as if they could ensure their safety and defy the day of reckoning4 ,gideon is now well persuaded that the fear of disaster is not for ,israel4 ,he returns to the camp and forthwith prepares to strike4 ,it seems to him now the easiest thing possible to throw into confusion that great encampment of ,midian4 ,one bold device rapidly executed will set in operation the suspicions and fears of the different desert tribes and they will melt away in defeat4 ,the stratagem has already shaped itself4 ,the three hundred are provided with the earthenware jars or pitchers in which their simple food has been carried4 ,they soon procure firebrands and from among the ten thousand in the camp enough rams' horns are collected to supply one to each of the attacking party4 ,then three bands are formed of equal strength and ordered to advance from different sides upon the enemy1 holding themselves ready at a given signal to break the pitchers1 flash the torches in the air and make as much noise as they can with their rude mountain horns4 ,the scheme is simple1 quaint1 ingenious4 ,it reveals skill in making use of the most ordinary materials which is of the very essence of generalship4 ,the harsh cornets especially filling the valley with barbaric tumult are well adapted to create terror and confusion4 ,we hear nothing of ordinary weapons1 but it must not be supposed that the three hundred were unarmed4 ,it was not long after midnight1 the middle watch had been newly set1 when the three companies reached their stations4 ,the orders had been well seized and all went precisely as ,gideon had conceived4 ,with crash and tumult and flare of torches there came the battle-shout--,sword of ,jehovah and of ,gideon4 ,the ,israelites had no need to press forward2 they stood every man in his place1 while fear and suspicion did the work4 ,the host ran and cried and fled4 ,to and fro among the tents1 seeing now on this side now on that the menacing flames1 turning from the battle-cry here to be met in an opposite quarter by the wild dissonance of the horns1 the surprised army was thrown into utter confusion4 ,every one thought of treachery and turned his sword against his fellow4 ,escape was the common impulse1 and the flight of the disorganized host took a south-easterly direction by the road that led to the ,jordan valley and across it to the ,hauran and the desert4 ,it was a complete rout and the ,hebrews had only to follow up their advantage4 ,those who had not shared the attack joined in the pursuit4 ,every village that the flying ,midianites passed sent out its men1 brave enough now that the arm of the tyrant was broken4 ,down to the ghor of ,jordan the terror-stricken ,arabs fled and along the bank for many a mile1 harassed in the difficult ground by the ,hebrews who know every yard of it4 ,at the fords there is dreadful work4 ,those who cross at the highest point near ,succoth are not the main body1 but the two chiefs ,zebah and ,zalmunna are among them and ,gideon takes them in hand4 ,away to the south ,ephraim has its opportunity and gains a victory where the road along the valley of ,jordan diverges to ,beth-barah4 ,for days and nights the retreat goes on till the strange swift triumph of ,israel is assured4 #a4 ,there is in this narrative a lesson as to equipment for the battle of life and the service of ,god somewhat like that which we found in the story of ,shamgar1 yet with points of difference4 ,we are reminded here of what may be done without wealth1 without the material apparatus that is often counted necessary4 ,the modern habit is to make much of tools and outfit4 ,the study and applications of science have brought in a fashion of demanding everything possible in the way of furniture1 means1 implements4 ,everywhere this fashion prevails1 in the struggle of commerce and manufacture1 in literature and art1 in teaching and household economy1 worst of all in church life and work4 ,michael ,angelo wrought the frescoes of the ,sistine chapel with the ochres he dug with his own hands from the garden of the ,vatican4 ,mr4 ,darwin's great experiments were conducted with the rudest and cheapest furniture1 anything a country house could supply4 ,but in the common view it is on perfect tools and material almost everything depends2 and we seem in the way of being absolutely mastered by them4 ,what1 for example1 is the ecclesiasticism which covers an increasing area of religious life8 ,and what is the parish or congregation fully organized in the modern sense8 ,must we not call them elaborate machinery expected to produce spiritual life8 ,there must be an extensive building with every convenience for making worship agreeable2 there must be guilds and guild rooms1 societies and committees1 each with an array of officials2 there must be due assignment of observances to fit days and seasons2 there must be architecture1 music and much else4 ,the ardent soul desiring to serve ,god and man has to find a place in conjunction with all this and order his work so that it may appear well in a report4 ,to some these things may appear ludicrous1 but they are too significant of the drift from that simplicity and personal energy in which the ,church of ,christ began4 ,we seem to have forgotten that the great strokes have been made by men who like ,gideon delayed not for elaborate preparation nor went back on rule and precedent1 but took the firebrands1 pitchers and horns that could be got together on a hill-side4 ,the great thing both in the secular and in the spiritual region is that men should go straight at the work which has to be done and do it with sagacity1 intelligence and fervour of their own4 ,we look back to those few plain men with whom lay the new life of the world1 going forth with the strong certain word of a belief for which they could die1 a truth by which the dead could be revived4 ,their equipment was of the soul4 ,of outward means and material advantages they were1 one may say1 destitute4 ,our methods are very different4 ,no doubt in these days there is a work of defence which requires the finest weapons and most careful preparation4 ,yet even here no weight of polished armour is so good for ,david's use as the familiar sling and stone4 ,and in the general task of the church1 teaching1 guiding1 setting forth the ,gospel of ,christ1 whatever keeps soul from honest and hearty touch with soul is bad4 ,we want above all things men who have sanctified common-sense1 mother-wit1 courage and frank simplicity1 men who can find their own means and gain their own victories4 ,the churches that do not breed such are doomed4 #b4 ,we have been reading a story of panic and defeat1 and we may be advised to find in it a hint of the fate that is to overtake ,christianity when modern criticism has finally ordered its companies and provided them with terrifying horns and torches4 ,or certain ,christians may feel that the illustration fits the state of alarm in which they are obliged to live4 ,is not the church like that encampment in the valley1 exposed to the most terrible and startling attacks on all sides1 and in peril constantly of being routed by unforeseen audacities1 here of ,ingersoll1 ,bakunin1 ,bebel1 there of ,huxley or ,renan8 ,not seldom still1 though after many a false alarm1 the cry is raised1 ,the church1 the faith--in danger6 ,once for all--the ,church of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ is never in danger1 though enemies buzz on every side like furious hornets4 ,a confederation of men1 a human organization may be in deadly peril and may know that the harsh tumult around it means annihilation4 ,but no institution is identical with the ,catholic ,church1 much less with the kingdom of ,god4 ,christians need not dread the honest criticism which has a right to speak1 nor even the malice1 envy1 which have no right yet dare to utter themselves4 ,whether it be sheer atheism or scientific dogma or political change or criticism of the ,bible that makes the religious world tremble and cry out for fear1 in every case panic is unchristian and unworthy4 ,for one thing1 do we not frame numerous thoughts and opinions of our own and devise many forms of service which in the course of time we come to regard as having a sacredness equal to the doctrine and ordinances of ,christ8 ,and do we not frequently fall into the error of thinking that the symbols1 traditions1 outward forms of a ,christian society are essential and as much to be contended for as the substance of the gospel8 ,criticism of these is dreaded as criticism of ,christ1 decay of them is regarded1 often quite wrongly1 as decay of the work of ,god on earth4 ,we forget that forms1 as such1 are on perpetual trial1 and we forget also that no revolution or seeming disaster can touch the facts on which ,christianity rests4 ,the ,divine gospel is eternal4 ,indeed1 assailants of the right sort are needed1 and even those of the bad sort have their use4 ,the encampment of the unseeing and unthinking1 of the self-loving and arrogant needs to be startled2 and he is no emissary of ,satan who honestly leads an attack where men lie in false peace1 though he may be for his own part but a rude fighter4 ,the panic indeed sometimes takes a singular and pathetic form4 ,the unexpected enemy breaks in on the camp with blare of ignorant rebuke and noisy demonstration of strength and authority4 ,him the church hails as a new apostle1 at his feet she takes her place with a strange unprofitable humility3 and this is the worst kind of disaster4 ,better far a serious battle than such submission4 #c4 ,without pursuing this suggestion we pass to another raised by the conduct of the men of ,ephraim4 ,they obeyed the call of ,gideon when he hastily summoned them to take the lower fords of ,jordan within their own territory and prevent the escape of the ,midianites4 ,to them it fell to gain a great victory1 and especially to slay two subordinate chiefs1 ,oreb and ,zeeb1 the ,crow and the ,wolf4 ,but afterwards they complained that they had not been called at first when the commander was gathering his army4 ,we are informed that they chode with him sharply on this score1 and it was only by his soft answer which implied a little flattery that they were appeased4 ,what have ,i now in comparison with you8 ,is not the gleaning of the grapes of ,ephraim better than the vintage of ,abiezer8 ,the men of ,ephraim were not called at first along with ,manasseh1 ,zebulun1 ,asher and ,naphtali4 ,true4 ,but why8 ,was not ,gideon aware of their selfish indifference8 ,did he not read their character8 ,did he not perceive that they would have sullenly refused to be led by a man of ,manasseh1 the youngest son of ,joash of ,abiezer8 ,only too well did the young chief know with whom he had to deal4 ,there had been fighting already between ,israel and the ,midianites4 ,did ,ephraim help then8 ,nay3 but secure in her mountains that tribe sullenly and selfishly held aloof4 ,and now the complaint is made when ,gideon1 once unknown1 is a victorious hero1 the deliverer of the ,hebrew nation4 ,do we not often see something like this8 ,there are people who will not hazard position or profit in identifying themselves with an enterprise while the issue is doubtful1 but desire to have the credit of connection with it if it should succeed4 ,they have not the humanity to associate themselves with those who are fighting in a good cause because it is good4 ,in fact they do not know what is good1 their only test of value being success4 ,they lie by1 looking with half-concealed scorn on the attempts of the earnest1 sneering at their heat either in secret or openly1 and when one day it becomes clear that the world is applauding they conceive a sudden respect for those at whom they scoffed4 ,now they will do what they can to help1--with pleasure1 with liberality4 ,why were they not sooner invited8 ,they will almost make a quarrel of that1 and they have to be soothed with fair speeches4 ,and people who are worldly at heart push forward in this fashion when ,christian affairs have success or eclat attached to them1 especially where religion wears least of its proper air and has somewhat of the earthly in tone and look4 ,christ pursued by the ,sanhedrin1 despised by the ,roman is no person for them to know4 ,let ,him have the patronage of ,constantine or a de' ,medici and they are then assured that ,he has claims which they will admit--in theory4 ,more than that needs not be expected from men and women of the world4 ,messieurs1 surtout1 pas de zele4 ,above all1 no zeal3 that is the motto of every ,ephraim since time began4 ,wait till zeal is cooling before you join the righteous cause4 #d4 ,but while there are the carnal who like to share the success of religion after it has cooled down to their temperature1 another class must not be forgotten1 those who in their selfishness show the worst kind of hostility to the cause they should aid4 ,look at the men of ,succoth and ,penuel4 ,gideon and his band leading the pursuit of the ,midianites have had no food all night and are faint with hunger4 ,at ,succoth they ask bread in vain4 ,instead of help they get the taunt--,are ,zebah and ,zalmunna now in thine hand that we should give bread unto thine army8 ,onward they press another stage up the hills to ,penuel1 and there also their request is refused4 ,gideon savage with the need of his men threatens dire punishment to those who are so callous and cruel2 and when he returns victorious his threat is made good4 ,with thorns and briars of the wilderness he scourges the elders of ,succoth4 ,the pride of ,penuel is its watchtower1 and that he demolishes1 at the same time decimating the men of the city4 ,penuel and ,succoth lay in the way between the wilderness in which the ,midianites dwelt and the valleys of western ,palestine4 ,the men of these cities feared that if they aided ,gideon they would bring on themselves the vengeance of the desert tribes4 ,yet where do we see the lowest point of unfaith and meanness1 in ,ephraim or ,succoth8 ,it is perhaps hard to say which are the least manly3 those contrive to join the conquering host and snatch the credit of victory2 these are not so clever1 and while they are as eager to make things smooth for themselves the thorns and briars are more visibly their portion4 ,to share the honour of a cause for which you have done very little is an easy thing in this world1 though an honest man cannot wear that kind of laurel2 but as for ,succoth and ,penuel1 the poor creatures1 who will not pity them8 ,it is so inconvenient often to have to decide4 ,they would temporise if it were possible--supply the famished army with mouldy corn and raisins at a high price1 and do as much next time for the ,midianites4 ,yet the opportunity for this kind of salvation does not always come4 ,there are times when people have to choose definitely whom they will serve1 and discover to their horror that judgment follows swiftly upon base and cowardly choice4 ,and ,god is faithful in making the recusants feel the urgency of moral choice and the grip ,he has of them4 ,they would fain let the battle of truth sweep by and not meddle with it4 ,but something is forced upon them4 ,they cannot let the whole affair of salvation alone1 but are driven to refuse heaven in the very act of trying to escape hell4 ,and although judgment lingers1 ever and anon demonstration is made among the ranks of the would-be prudent that ,one on high judges for ,his warriors4 ,it is not the ,gideon leading the little band of faint but eager champions of faith who punishes the callous heathenism and low scorn of a ,succoth and ,penuel4 ,the ,lord of ,hosts ,himself will vindicate and chasten4 ,whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe in ,me to stumble1 it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck1 and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea4 #e4 ,yet another word of instruction is found in the appeal of ,gideon3 ,give1 ,i pray you1 loaves of bread unto the people that follow me1 for they be faint and ,i am pursuing after ,zebah and ,zalmunna4 ,well has the expression ,faint yet pursuing found its place as a proverb of the religious life4 ,we are called to run with patience a race that needs long ardour and strenuous exertion4 ,the goal is far away1 the ground is difficult4 ,as day after day and year after year demands are made upon our faith1 our resolution1 our thought1 our devotion to ,one who remains unseen and on our confidence in the future life it is no wonder that many feel faint and weary4 ,often have we to pass through a region inhabited by those who are indifferent or hostile1 careless or derisive4 ,at many a door we knock and find no sympathy4 ,we ask for bread and receive a stone2 and still the fight slackens not1 still have we to reach forth to the things that are before4 ,but the faintness is not death4 ,in the most terrible hours there is new life for our spiritual nature4 ,refreshment comes from an unseen hand when earth refuses help4 ,we turn to ,christ2 we consider ,him who endured great contradiction of sinners against ,himself2 we realize afresh that we are ensured of the fulness of ,his redemption4 ,the body grows faint1 but the soul presses on2 the body dies and has to be left behind as a worn-out garment1 but the spirit ascends into immortal youth4 ,on1 chariot6 on1 soul6 ,ye are all the more fleet4 ,be alone at the goal ,of the strange and the sweet6 #f4 ,finally let us glance at the fate of ,zebah and ,zalmunna1 not without a feeling of admiration and of pity for the rude ending of these stately lives4 ,the sword of ,jehovah and of ,gideon has slain its thousands4 ,the vast desert army has been scattered like chaff1 in the flight1 at the fords1 by the rock ,oreb and the winepress ,zeeb1 all along the way by ,nobah and ,jogbehah1 and finally at ,karkor1 where having encamped in fancied security the residue is smitten4 ,now the two defeated chiefs are in the hand of ,gideon1 their military renown completely wrecked1 their career destroyed4 ,to them the expedition into ,canaan was part of the common business of leadership4 ,as emirs of nomadic tribes they had to find pasture and prey for their people4 ,no special antagonism to ,jehovah1 no ill-will against ,israel more than other nations led them to cross the ,jordan and scour the plains of ,palestine4 ,it was quite in the natural course of things that ,midianites and ,amalekites should migrate and move towards the west4 ,and now the defeat is crushing4 ,what remains therefore but to die8 ,we hear ,gideon command his son ,jether to fall upon the captive chiefs1 who brilliant and stately once lie disarmed1 bound and helpless4 ,the indignity is not to our mind4 ,we would have thought more of ,gideon had he offered freedom to these captives fallen on evil days1 men to be admired not hated4 ,but probably they do not desire a life which has in it no more of honour4 ,only let the ,hebrew leader not insult them by the stroke of a young man's sword4 ,the great chiefs would die by a warrior's blow4 ,and ,jether cannot slay them2 his hand falters as he draws the sword4 ,these men who have ruled their tens of thousands have still the lion look that quails4 ,rise thou and fall upon us1 they say to ,gideon3 for as the man is1 so is his strength4 ,and so they die1 types of the greatest earthly powers that resist the march of ,divine ,providence1 overthrown by a sword which even in faulty weak human hands has indefeasible sureness and edge4 ,as the man is1 so is his strength4 ,it is another of the pregnant sayings which meet us here and there even in the least meditative parts of ,scripture4 ,yes3 as a man is in character1 in faith1 in harmony with the will of ,god1 so is his strength2 as he is in falseness1 injustice1 egotism and ignorance1 so is his weakness4 ,and there is but one real perennial kind of strength4 ,the demonstration made by selfish and godless persons1 though it shake continents and devastate nations1 is not ,force4 ,it has no nerve1 no continuance1 but is mere fury which decays and perishes4 ,strength is the property of truth and truth only2 it belongs to those who are in union with eternal reality and to no others in the universe4 ,would you be invincible8 ,you must move with the eternal powers of righteousness and love4 ,to be showy in appearance or terrible in sound on the wrong side with the futilities of the world is but incipient death4 ,on all sides the application may be seen4 ,in the home and its varied incidents of education1 sickness1 discipline2 in society high and low2 in politics1 in literature4 ,as the man or woman is in simple allegiance to ,god and clear resolution there is strength to endure1 to govern1 to think and every way to live4 ,otherwise there can only be instability1 foolishness1 blundering selfishness1 a sad passage to inanition and decay4 ,,xiv4 ,,gideon ,,the ,,ecclesiastic4 ,,judges viii4 #bb-bh4 ,the great victory of ,gideon had this special significance1 that it ended the incursions of the wandering races of the desert4 ,canaan offered a continual lure to the nomads of the ,arabian wilderness1 as indeed the eastern and southern parts of ,syria do at the present time4 ,the hazard was that wave after wave of ,midianites and ,bedawin sweeping over the land should destroy agriculture and make settled national life and civilization impossible4 ,and when ,gideon undertook his work the risk of this was acute4 ,but the defeat inflicted on the wild tribes proved decisive4 ,midian was subdued before the children of ,israel1 and they lifted up their heads no more4 ,the slaughter that accompanied the overthrow of ,zebah and ,zalmunna1 ,oreb and ,zeeb became in the literature of ,israel a symbol of the destruction which must overtake the foes of ,god4 ,do thou to thine enemies as unto ,midian--so runs the cry of a psalm--,make their nobles like ,oreb and ,zeeb3 yea1 all their princes like ,zebah and ,zalmunna1 who said1 ,let us take to ourselves in possession the habitations of ,god4 ,in ,isaiah the remembrance gives a touch of vivid colour to the oracle of the coming ,wonderful1 ,prince of ,peace4 ,the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder1 the rod of his oppressor shall be broken as in the day of ,midian4 ,regarding the ,assyrian also the same prophet testifies1 ,the ,lord of ,hosts shall stir up against him a scourge as in the slaughter of ,midian at the rock of ,oreb4 ,we have no song like that of ,deborah celebrating the victory1 but a sense of its immense importance held the mind of the people1 and by reason of it ,gideon found a place among the heroes of faith4 ,doubtless he had1 to begin with1 a special reason for taking up arms against the ,midianitish chiefs that they had slain his two brothers3 the duty of an avenger of blood fell to him4 ,but this private vengeance merged in the desire to give his people freedom1 religious as well as political1 and it was ,jehovah's victory that he won1 as he himself gladly acknowledged4 ,we may see1 therefore1 in the whole enterprise1 a distinct step of religious development4 ,once again the name of the ,most ,high was exalted2 once again the folly of idol worship was contrasted with the wisdom of serving the ,god of ,abraham and ,moses4 ,the tribes moved in the direction of national unity and also of common devotion to their unseen ,king4 ,if ,gideon had been a man of larger intellect and knowledge he might have led ,israel far on the way towards fitness for the mission it had never yet endeavoured to fulfil4 ,but his powers and inspiration were limited4 ,on his return from the campaign the wish of the people was expressed to ,gideon that he should assume the title of king4 ,the nation needed a settled government1 a centre of authority which would bind the tribes together1 and the ,abiezrite chief was now clearly marked as a man fit for royalty4 ,he was able to persuade as well as to fight2 he was bold1 firm and prudent4 ,but to the request that he should become king and found a dynasty ,gideon gave an absolute refusal3 ,i will not rule over you1 neither shall my son rule over you2 ,jehovah shall rule over you4 ,we always admire a man who refuses one of the great posts of human authority or distinction4 ,the throne of ,israel was even at that time a flattering offer4 ,but should it have been made8 ,there are few who will pause in a moment of high personal success to think of the point of morality involved2 yet we may credit ,gideon with the belief that it was not for him or any man to be called king in ,israel4 ,as a judge he had partly proved himself1 as a judge he had a ,divine call and a marvellous vindication3 that name he would accept1 not the other4 ,one of the chief elements of ,gideon's character was a strong but not very spiritual religiousness4 ,he attributed his success entirely to ,god1 and ,god alone he desired the nation to acknowledge as its ,head4 ,he would not even in appearance stand between the people and their ,divine ,sovereign1 nor with his will should any son of his take a place so unlawful and dangerous4 ,along with his devotion to ,god it is quite likely that the caution of ,gideon had much to do with his resolve4 ,he had already found some difficulty in dealing with the ,ephraimites1 and he could easily foresee that if he became king the pride of that large clan would rise strongly against him4 ,if the gleaning of the grapes of ,ephraim was better than the whole vintage of ,abiezer1 as ,gideon had declared1 did it not follow that any elder of the great central tribe would better deserve the position of king than the youngest son of ,joash of ,abiezer8 ,the men of ,succoth and ,penuel too had to be reckoned with4 ,before ,gideon could establish himself in a royal seat he would have to fight a great coalition in the centre and south and also beyond ,jordan4 ,to the pains of oppression would succeed the agony of civil war4 ,unwilling to kindle a fire which might burn for years and perhaps consume himself1 he refused to look at the proposal1 flattering and honourable as it was4 ,but there was another reason for his decision which may have had even more weight4 ,like many men who have distinguished themselves in one way1 his real ambition lay in a different direction4 ,we think of him as a military genius4 ,he for his part looked to the priestly office and the transmission of ,divine oracles as his proper calling4 ,the enthusiasm with which he overthrew the altar of ,baal1 built the new altar of ,jehovah and offered his first sacrifice upon it survived when the wild delights of victory had passed away4 ,the thrill of awe and the strange excitement he had felt when ,divine messages came to him and signs were given in answer to his prayer affected him far more deeply and permanently than the sight of a flying enemy and the pride of knowing himself victor in a great campaign4 ,neither did kingship appear much in comparison with access to ,god1 converse with ,him and declaration of ,his will to men4 ,gideon appears already tired of war1 with no appetite certainly for more1 however successful1 and impatient to return to the mysterious rites and sacred privileges of the altar4 ,he had good reason to acknowledge the power over ,israel's destiny of the ,great ,being ,whose spirit had come upon him1 ,whose promises had been fulfilled4 ,he desired to cultivate that intercourse with ,heaven which more than anything else gave him the sense of dignity and strength4 ,from the offer of a crown he turned as if eager to don the robe of a priest and listen for the holy oracles that none beside himself seemed able to receive4 ,it is notable that in the history of the ,jewish kings the tendency shown by ,gideon frequently reappeared4 ,according to the law of later times the kingly duties should have been entirely separated from those of the priesthood4 ,it came to be a dangerous and sacrilegious thing for the chief magistrate of the tribes1 their leader in war1 to touch the sacred implements or offer a sacrifice4 ,but just because the ideas of sacrifice and priestly service were so fully in the ,jewish mind the kings1 either when especially pious or especially strong1 felt it hard to refrain from the forbidden privilege4 ,on the eve of a great battle with the ,philistines ,saul1 expecting ,samuel to offer the preparatory sacrifice and inquire of ,jehovah1 waited seven days and then impatient of delay undertook the priestly part and offered a burnt sacrifice4 ,his act was properly speaking a confession of the sovereignty of ,god2 but when ,samuel came he expressed great indignation against the king1 denounced his interference with sacred things and in effect removed him then and there from the kingdom4 ,david for his part appears to have been scrupulous in employing the priests for every religious function2 but at the bringing up of the ark from the house of ,obed-,edom he is reported to have led a sacred dance before the ,lord and to have worn a linen ephod1 that is a garment specially reserved for the priests4 ,he also took to himself the privilege of blessing the people in the name of the ,lord4 ,on the division of the kingdom ,jeroboam promptly assumed the ordering of religion1 set up shrines and appointed priests to minister at them2 and in one scene we find him standing by an altar to offer incense4 ,the great sin of ,uzziah1 on account of which he had to go forth from the temple a hopeless leper1 is stated in the second book of ,chronicles to have been an attempt to burn incense on the altar4 ,these are cases in point2 but the most remarkable is that of ,solomon4 ,to be king1 to build and equip the temple and set in operation the whole ritual of the house of ,god did not content that magnificent prince4 ,his ambition led him to assume a part far loftier and more impressive than fell to the chief priest himself4 ,it was ,solomon who offered the prayer when the temple was consecrated1 who pronounced the blessing of ,god on the worshipping multitude2 and at his invocation it was that fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices4 ,this crowning act of his life1 in which the great monarch rose to the very highest pitch of his ambition1 actually claiming and taking precedence over all the house of ,aaron1 will serve to explain the strange turn of the ,abiezrite's history at which we have now arrived4 ,he made an ephod and put it in his city1 even in ,ophrah4 ,a strong but not spiritual religiousness1 we have said1 is the chief note of ,gideon's character4 ,it may be objected that such a one1 if he seeks ecclesiastical office1 does so unworthily2 but to say so is an uncharitable error4 ,it is not the devout temper alone that finds attraction in the ministry of sacred things2 nor should a love of place and power be named as the only other leading motive4 ,one who is not devout may in all sincerity covet the honour of standing for ,god before the congregation1 leading the people in worship and interpreting the sacred oracles4 ,a vulgar explanation of human desire is often a false one2 it is so here4 ,the ecclesiastic may show few tokens of the spiritual temper1 the other-worldliness1 the glowing and simple truth we rightly account to be the proper marks of a ,christian ministry2 yet he may by his own reckoning have obeyed a clear call4 ,his function in this case is to maintain order and administer outward rites with dignity and care--a limited range of duty indeed1 but not without utility1 especially when there are inferior and less conscientious men in office not far away4 ,he does not advance faith1 but according to his power he maintains it4 ,but the ecclesiastic must have the ephod4 ,the man who feels the dignity of religion more than its humane simplicity1 realizing it as a great movement of absorbing interest1 will naturally have regard to the means of increasing dignity and making the movement impressive4 ,gideon calls upon the people for the golden spoils taken from the ,midianites1 nose-rings1 earrings and the like1 and they willingly respond4 ,it is easy to obtain gifts for the outward glory of religion1 and a golden image is soon to be seen within a house of ,jehovah on the hill at ,ophrah4 ,whatever form it had1 this figure was to ,gideon no idol but a symbol or sign of ,jehovah's presence among the people1 and by means of it1 in one or other of the ways used at the time1 as for example by casting lots from within it1 appeal was made to ,god with the utmost respect and confidence4 ,when it is supposed that ,gideon fell away from his first faith in making this image the error lies in overestimating his spirituality at the earlier stage4 ,we must not think that at any time the use of a symbolic image would have seemed wrong to him4 ,it was not against images but against worship of false and impure gods that his zeal was at first directed4 ,the sacred pole was an object of detestation because it was a symbol of ,astarte4 ,in some way we cannot explain the whole life of ,gideon appears as quite separate from the religious ordinances maintained before the ark1 and at the same time quite apart from that ,divine rule which forbade the making and worship of graven images4 ,either he did not know the second commandment1 or he understood it only as forbidding the use of an image of any creature and the worship of a creature by means of an image4 ,we know that the cherubim in the ,holy of ,holies were symbolic of the perfections of creation1 and through them the greatness of the ,unseen ,god was realized4 ,so it was with ,gideon's ephod or image1 which was however used in seeking oracles4 ,he acted at ,ophrah as priest of the true ,god4 ,the sacrifices he offered were to ,jehovah4 ,people came from all the northern tribes to bow at his altar and receive divine intimations through him4 ,the southern tribes had ,gilgal and ,shiloh4 ,here at ,ophrah was a service of the ,god of ,israel1 not perhaps intended to compete with the other shrines1 yet virtually depriving them of their fame4 ,for the expression is used that all ,israel went a whoring after the ephod4 ,but while we try to understand we are not to miss the warning which comes home to us through this chapter of religious history4 ,pure and1 for the time1 even elevated in the motive1 ,gideon's attempt at priestcraft led to his fall4 ,for a while we see the hero acting as judge at ,ophrah and presiding with dignity at the altar4 ,his best wisdom is at the service of the people and he is ready to offer for them at new moon or harvest the animals they desire to consecrate and consume in the sacred feast4 ,in a spirit of real faith and no doubt with much sagacity he submits their inquiries to the test of the ephod4 ,but the thing became a snare to ,gideon and his house1 perhaps in the way of bringing in riches and creating the desire for more4 ,those who applied to him as a revealer brought gifts with them4 ,gradually as wealth increased among the people the value of the donations would increase1 and he who began as a disinterested patriot may have degenerated into a somewhat avaricious man who made a trade of religion4 ,on this point we have1 however1 no information4 ,it is mere surmise depending upon observation of the way things are apt to go amongst ourselves4 ,reviewing the story of ,gideon's life we find this clear lesson1 that within certain limits he who trusts and obeys ,god has a quite irresistible efficiency4 ,this man had1 as we have seen1 his limitations1 very considerable4 ,as a religious leader1 prophet or priest1 he was far from competent2 there is no indication that he was able to teach ,israel a single ,divine doctrine1 and as to the purity and mercy1 the righteousness and love of ,god1 his knowledge was rudimentary4 ,in the remote villages of the ,abiezrites the tradition of ,jehovah's name and power remained1 but in the confusion of the times there was no education of children in the will of ,god3 the ,law was practically unknown4 ,from ,shechem where ,baal-,berith was worshipped the influence of a degrading idolatry had spread1 obliterating every religious idea except the barest elements of the old faith4 ,doing his very best to understand ,god1 ,gideon never saw what religion in our sense means4 ,his sacrifices were appeals to a ,power dimly felt through nature and in the greater epochs of the national history1 chastising now and now friendly and beneficent4 ,yet1 seriously limited as he was1 ,gideon when he had once laid hold of the fact that he was called by the unseen ,god to deliver ,israel went on step by step to the great victory which made the tribes free4 ,his responsibility to his fellow-,israelites became clear along with his sense of the demand made upon him by ,god4 ,he felt himself like the wind1 like the lightning1 like the dew1 an agent or instrument of the ,most ,high1 bound to do ,his part in the course of things4 ,his will was enlisted in the ,divine purpose4 ,this work1 this deliverance of ,israel was to be effected by him and no other4 ,he had the elemental powers with him1 in him4 ,the immense armies of ,midian could not stand in his way4 ,he was1 as it were1 a storm that must hurl them back into the wilderness defeated and broken4 ,now this is the very conception of life which we in our far wider knowledge are apt to miss1 which nevertheless it is our chief business to grasp and carry into practice4 ,you stand there1 a man instructed in a thousand things of which ,gideon was ignorant1 instructed especially in the nature and will of ,god ,whom ,christ has revealed4 ,it is your privilege to take a broad survey of human life1 of duty1 to look beyond the present to the eternal future with its infinite possibilities of gain and loss4 ,but the danger is that year after year all thought and effort shall be on your own account1 that with each changing wind of circumstance you change your purpose1 that you never understand ,god's demand nor find the true use of knowledge1 will and life in fulfilling that4 ,have you a ,divine task to effect8 ,you doubt it4 ,where is anything that can be called a commission of ,god8 ,you look this way and that for a little1 then give up the quest4 ,this year finds you without enthusiasm1 without devotion even as you have been in other years4 ,so life ebbs away and is lost in the wide flat sands of the secular and trivial1 and the soul never becomes part of the strong ocean current of ,divine purpose4 ,we pity or deride some who1 with little knowledge and in many errors alike of heart and head1 were yet men as many of us may not claim to be1 alive to the fact of ,god and their own share in ,him4 ,but they were so limited1 those ,hebrews1 you say1 a mere horde of shepherds and husbandmen2 their story is too poor1 too chaotic to have any lesson for us4 ,and in sheer incapacity to read the meaning of the tale you turn from this ,book of ,judges1 as from a barbarian myth1 less interesting than ,homer1 of no more application to yourself than the legends of the ,round ,table4 ,yet1 all the while1 the one supreme lesson for a man to read and take home to himself is written throughout the book in bold and living characters--that only when life is realized as a vocation is it worth living4 ,god may be faintly known1 ,his will but rudely interpreted2 yet the mere understanding that ,he gives life and rewards effort is an inspiration4 ,and when ,his life-giving call ceases to stir and guide1 there can be for the man1 the nation1 only irresolution and weakness4 ,a century ago ,englishmen were as little devout as they are to-day2 they were even less spiritual1 less moved to fine issues4 ,they had their scepticisms too1 their rough ignorant prejudices1 their giant errors and perversities4 ,we have gained vastly1 as ,professor ,seeley says1 in breadth of view1 intelligence and refinement4 ,probably what we threw aside could not be retained2 what we adopted was forced upon us by the age4 ,nevertheless1 we had formerly what ,i may call a national discipline1 which formed a firm1 strongly-marked national character4 ,we have now only materials1 which may be of the first quality1 but have not been worked up4 ,we have everything except decided views and steadfast purpose--everything in short except character4 ,yes3 the sense of the nation's calling has decayed1 and with it the nation's strength4 ,in leaders and followers alike purpose fades as faith evaporates1 and we are faithless because we attempt nothing noble under the eye and sceptre of the ,king4 ,you live1 let us say1 among those who doubt ,god1 doubt whether there is any redemption1 whether the whole ,christian gospel and hope are not in the air1 dreams1 possibilities1 rather than facts of the ,eternal ,will4 ,the storm-wind blows and you hear its roaring3 that is palpable fact1 divine or cosmic4 ,its errand will be accomplished4 ,great rivers flow1 great currents sweep through the ocean4 ,their mighty urgency who can doubt8 ,but the spiritual who can believe8 ,you do not feel in the sphere of the moral1 of the spiritual the wind that makes no sound1 the current that rolls silently charged with sublime energies1 effecting a vast and wonderful purpose4 ,yet here are the great facts2 and we must find our part in that spiritual urgency1 do our duty there1 or lose all4 ,we must launch out on the mighty stream of redemption or never reach eternal light1 for all else moves down to death4 ,christ ,himself is to be victorious in us4 ,the glory of our life is that we can be irresistible in the region of our duty1 irresistible in conflict with the evil1 the selfishness1 the falsehood given us to overthrow4 ,to realize that is to live4 ,the rest is all mere experiment1 getting ready for the task of existence1 making armour1 preparing food1 otherwise1 at the worst1 a winter's morning before inglorious death4 ,one other thing observe1 that underlying ,gideon's desire to fill the office of priest there was a dull perception of the highest function of one man in relation to others4 ,it appears to the common mind a great thing to rule1 to direct secular affairs1 to have the command of armies and the power of filling offices and conferring dignities2 and no doubt to one who desires to serve his generation well1 royalty1 political power1 even municipal office offer many excellent opportunities4 ,but set kingship on this side1 kingship concerned with the temporal and earthly1 or at best humane aspects of life1 and on the other side priesthood of the true kind which has to do with the spiritual1 by which ,god is revealed to man and the holy ardour and divine aspirations of the human will are sustained--and there can be no question which is the more important4 ,a clever strong man may be a ruler4 ,it needs a good man1 a pious man1 a man of heavenly power and insight to be in any right sense a priest4 ,i speak not of the kind of priest ,gideon turned out1 nor of a ,jewish priest1 nor of any one who in modern times professes to be in that succession1 but of one who really stands between ,god and men1 bearing the sorrows of his kind1 their trials1 doubts1 cries and prayers on his heart and presenting them to ,god1 interpreting to the weary and sad and troubled the messages of heaven4 ,in this sense ,christ is the one ,true ,priest1 the eternal and only sufficient ,high ,priest4 ,and in this sense it is possible for every ,christian to hold towards those less enlightened and less decided in their faith the priestly part4 ,now in a dim way the priestly function presented itself to ,gideon and allured him4 ,sufficient for it he was not1 and his ephod became a snare4 ,neither could he grasp the wisdom of heaven nor understand the needs of men4 ,in his hands the sacred art did not prosper1 he became content with the appearance and the gain4 ,it is so with many who take the name of priests4 ,in truth on one side the term and all it stands for must be confessed full of danger to him set apart and those who separate him4 ,here as pointedly as anywhere must it be affirmed1 ,whatsoever is not of faith is sin4 ,there must be a mastering sense of ,god's calling on the side of him who ministers1 and on the side of the people recognition of a message1 an example coming to them through this brother of theirs who speaks what he has received of the ,holy ,spirit1 who offers a personal living word1 a personal testimony4 ,here1 be it called what it may1 is priesthood after the pattern of ,christ's1 true and beneficent2 and apart from this1 priesthood may too easily become1 as many have affirmed1 a horrible imposture and baleful lie4 ,christianity brings the whole to a point in every life4 ,god's calling1 spiritual1 complete1 comes to each soul in its place1 and the holy oil is for every head4 ,the father1 mother1 the employer and the workman1 the surgeon1 writer1 lawyer--everywhere and in all posts1 just as men and women are living out ,god's demand upon them--these are ,his priests1 ministrants of the hearth and the shop1 the factory and the office1 by the cradle and the sick-bed1 wherever the multitudinous epic of life goes forward4 ,here is the common and withal the holiest calling and office4 ,that one dwelling with ,god in righteousness and love introduce others into the sanctuary1 declare as a thing he knows the will of the ,eternal1 uplift the feebleness of faith and revive the heart of love--this is the highest task on earth1 the grandest of heaven4 ,of such it may be said1 ,ye are a chosen generation1 a royal priesthood1 a holy nation1 a peculiar people that ye should show forth the praises of ,him ,who hath called you out of darkness into ,his marvellous light4 ,,xv4 ,,abimelech ,,and ,,jotham4 ,,judges viii4 #bi-;ix4 #eg4 ,the history we are tracing moves from man to man2 the personal influence of the hero is everything while it lasts and confusion follows on his death4 ,gideon appears as one of the most successful ,hebrew judges in maintaining order4 ,while he was there in ,ophrah religion and government had a centre and the country was in quietness forty years4 ,a man far from perfect but capable of mastery held the reins and gave forth judgment with an authority none could challenge4 ,his burial in the family sepulchre in ,ophrah is specially recorded as if it had been a great national tribute to his heroic power and skilful administration4 ,the funeral over1 discord began4 ,a rightful ruler there was not4 ,among the claimants of power there was no man of power4 ,gideon left many sons1 but not one of them could take his place4 ,the confederation of cities half ,hebrew1 half ,canaanite with ,shechem at their head1 of which we have already heard1 held in check while ,gideon lived1 now began to control the politics of the tribes4 ,by using the influence of this league a usurper who had no title whatever to the confidence of the people succeeded in exalting himself4 ,the old town of ,shechem situated in the beautiful valley between ,ebal and ,gerizim had long been a centre of ,baal worship and of ,canaanite intrigue1 though nominally one of the cities of refuge and therefore specially sacred4 ,very likely the mixed population of this important town1 jealous of the position gained by the hill-village of ,ophrah1 were ready to receive with favour any proposals that seemed to offer them distinction4 ,and when ,abimelech1 son of ,gideon by a slave woman of their town1 went among them with ambitious and crafty suggestions they were easily persuaded to help him4 ,the desire for a king which ,gideon had promptly set aside lingered in the minds of the people1 and by means of it ,abimelech was able to compass his personal ends4 ,first1 however1 he had to discredit others who stood in his way4 ,there at ,ophrah were the sons and grandsons of ,gideon1 threescore and ten of them according to the tradition1 who were supposed to be bent on lording it over the tribes4 ,was it a thing to be thought of that the land should have seventy kings8 ,surely one would be better1 less of an incubus at least1 more likely to do the ruling well4 ,men of ,shechem too would not be governed from ,ophrah if they had any spirit4 ,he1 ,abimelech1 was their townsman1 their bone and flesh4 ,he confidently looked for their support4 ,we cannot tell how far there was reason for saying that the family of ,gideon were aiming at an aristocracy4 ,they may have had some vague purpose of the kind4 ,the suggestion1 at all events1 was cunning and had its effect4 ,the people of ,shechem had stored considerable treasure in the sanctuary of ,baal1 and by public vote seventy pieces of silver were paid out of it to ,abimelech4 ,the money was at once used by him in hiring a band of men like himself1 unscrupulous1 ready for any desperate or bloody deed4 ,with these he marched on ,ophrah and surprising his brothers in the house or palace of ,jerubbaal speedily put out of his way their dangerous rivalry4 ,with the exception of ,jotham1 who had observed the band approaching and concealed himself1 the whole house of ,gideon was dragged to execution4 ,on one stone1 perhaps the very rock on which the altar of ,baal once stood1 the threescore and nine were barbarously slain4 ,a villainous coup d'etat this4 ,from ,gideon overthrowing ,baal and proclaiming ,jehovah to ,abimelech bringing up ,baal again with hideous fratricide--it is a wretched turn of things4 ,gideon had to some extent prepared the way for a man far inferior to himself1 as all do who are not utterly faithful to their light and calling2 but he never imagined there could be so quick and shocking a revival of barbarism4 ,yet the ephod-dealing1 the polygamy1 the immorality into which he lapsed were bound to come to fruit4 ,the man who once was a pure ,hebrew patriot begat a half-heathen son to undo his own work4 ,as for the ,shechemites1 they knew quite well to what end they had voted those seventy pieces of silver2 and the general opinion seems to have been that the town had its money's worth1 a life for each piece and1 to boot1 a king reeking with blood and shame4 ,surely it was a well-spent grant4 ,their confederation1 their god had triumphed4 ,they made ,abimelech king by the oak of the pillar that was in ,shechem4 ,it is the success of the adventurer we have here1 that common event4 ,abimelech is the oriental adventurer and uses the methods of another age than ours2 yet we have our examples1 and if they are less scandalous in some ways1 if they are apart from bloodshed and savagery1 they are still sufficiently trying to those who cherish the faith of divine justice and providence4 ,how many have to see with amazement the adventurer triumph by means of seventy pieces of silver from the house of ,baal or even from a holier treasury4 ,he in a selfish and cruel game seems to have speedy and complete success denied to the best and purest cause4 ,fighting for his own hand in wicked or contemptuous hardness and arrogant conceit1 he finds support1 applause1 an open way4 ,being no prophet he has honour in his own town4 ,he knows the art of the stealthy insinuation1 the lying promise and the flattering murmur2 he has skill to make the favour of one leading person a step to securing another4 ,when a few important people have been hoodwinked1 he too becomes important and success is assured4 ,the ,bible1 most entirely honest of books1 frankly sets before us this adventurer1 ,abimelech1 in the midst of the judges of ,israel1 as low a specimen of success as need be looked for2 and we trace the well-known means by which such a person is promoted4 ,his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of ,shechem4 ,that there was little to say1 that he was a man of no character mattered not the least4 ,the thing was to create an impression so that ,abimelech's scheme might be introduced and forced4 ,so far he could intrigue and then1 the first steps gained1 he could mount4 ,but there was in him none of the mental power that afterwards marked ,jehu1 none of the charm that survives with the name of ,absalom4 ,it was on jealousy1 pride1 ambition he played as the most jealous1 proud and ambitious2 yet for three years the ,hebrews of the league1 blinded by the desire to have their nation like others1 suffered him to bear the name of king4 ,and by this sovereignty the ,israelites who acknowledged it were doubly and trebly compromised4 ,not only did they accept a man without a record1 they believed in one who was an enemy to his country's religion1 one therefore quite ready to trample upon its liberty4 ,this is really the beginning of a worse oppression than that of ,midian or of ,jabin4 ,it shows on the part of ,hebrews generally as well as those who tamely submitted to ,abimelech's lordship a most abject state of mind4 ,after the bloody work at ,ophrah the tribes should have rejected the fratricide with loathing and risen like one man to suppress him4 ,if the ,baal-worshippers of ,shechem would make him king there ought to have been a cause of war against them in which every good man and true should have taken the field4 ,we look in vain for any such opposition to the usurper4 ,now that he is crowned1 ,manasseh1 ,ephraim and the ,north regard him complacently4 ,it is the world all over4 ,how can we wonder at this when we know with what acclamations kings scarcely more reputable than he have been greeted in modern times8 ,crowds gather and shout1 fires of welcome blaze2 there is joy as if the millennium had come4 ,it is a king crowned1 restored1 his country's head1 defender of the faith4 ,vain is the hope1 pathetic the joy4 ,there is no man of spirit to oppose ,abimelech in the field4 ,the duped nation must drink its cup of misrule and blood4 ,but one appears of keen wit1 apt and trenchant in speech4 ,at least the tribes shall hear what one sound mind thinks of this coronation4 ,jotham1 as we saw1 escaped the slaughter at ,ophrah4 ,in the rear of the murderer he has crossed the hills and he will now utter his warning1 whether men hear or whether they forbear4 ,there is a crowd assembled for worship or deliberation at the oak of the pillar4 ,suddenly a voice is heard ringing clearly out between hill and hill1 and the people looking up recognize ,jotham who from a spur of rock on the side of ,gerizim demands their audience4 ,hearken unto me1 he cries1 ye men of ,shechem1 that ,god may hearken unto you4 ,then in his parable of the olive1 the fig-tree1 the vine and the bramble1 he pronounces judgment and prophecy4 ,the bramble is exalted to be king1 but on these terms1 that the trees come and put their trust under its shadow2 but if not1 then let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of ,lebanon4 ,it is a piece of satire of the best order1 brief1 stinging1 true4 ,the craving for a king is lashed and then the wonderful choice of a ruler4 ,jotham speaks as an anarchist1 one might say1 but with ,god understood as the centre of law and order4 ,it is a vision of the ,theocracy taking shape from a keen and original mind4 ,he figures men as trees growing independently1 dutifully4 ,and do trees need a king8 ,are they not set in their natural freedom each to yield fruit as best it can after its kind8 ,men of ,shechem1 ,hebrews all1 if they will only attend to their proper duties and do quiet work as ,god wills1 appear to ,jotham to need a king no more than the trees4 ,under the benign course of nature1 sunshine and rain1 wind and dew1 the trees have all the restraint they need1 all the liberty that is good for them4 ,so men under the providence of ,god1 adoring and obeying ,him1 have the best control1 the only needful control1 and with it liberty4 ,are they not fools then to go about seeking a tyrant to rule them1 they who should be as cedars of ,lebanon1 willows by the watercourses1 they who are made for simple freedom and spontaneous duty8 ,it is something new in ,israel this keen intellectualizing2 but the fable1 pointed as it is1 teaches nothing for the occasion4 ,jotham is a man full of wit and of intelligence1 but he has no practicable scheme of government1 nothing definite to oppose to the mistake of the hour4 ,he is all for the ideal1 but the time and the people are unripe for the ideal4 ,we see the same contrast in our own day2 both in politics and the church the incisive critic discrediting subordination altogether fails to secure his age4 ,men are not trees4 ,they are made to obey and trust4 ,a hero or one who seems a hero is ever welcome1 and he who skilfully imitates the roar of the lion may easily have a following1 while ,jotham1 intensely sincere1 highly gifted1 a true-sighted man1 finds none to mind him4 ,again the fable is directed against ,abimelech4 ,what was this man to whom ,shechem had sworn fealty8 ,an olive1 a fig-tree1 fruitful and therefore to be sought after8 ,was he a vine capable of rising on popular support to useful and honourable service8 ,not he4 ,it was the bramble they had chosen1 the poor grovelling jagged thorn-bush that tears the flesh1 whose end is to feed the fire of the oven4 ,who ever heard of a good or heroic deed ,abimelech had done8 ,he was simply a contemptible upstart1 without moral principle1 as ready to wound as to flatter1 and they who chose him for king would too soon find their error4 ,now that he had done something1 what was it8 ,there were ,israelites among the crowd that shouted in his honour4 ,had they already forgotten the services of ,gideon so completely as to fall down before a wretch red-handed from the murder of their hero's sons8 ,such a beginning showed the character of the man they trusted1 and the same fire which had issued from the bramble at ,ophrah would flame out upon themselves4 ,this was but the beginning2 soon there would be war to the knife between ,abimelech and ,shechem4 ,we find instruction in the parable by regarding the answers put into the mouth of this tree and that when they are invited to wave to and fro over the others4 ,there are honours which are dearly purchased1 high positions which cannot be assumed without renouncing the true end and fruition of life4 ,one for example who is quietly and with increasing efficiency doing his part in a sphere to which he is adapted must set aside the gains of long discipline if he is to become a social leader4 ,he can do good where he is4 ,not so certain is it that he will be able to serve his fellows well in public office4 ,it is one thing to enjoy the deference paid to a leader while the first enthusiasm on his behalf continues1 but it is quite another thing to satisfy all the demands made as years go on and new needs arise4 ,when any one is invited to take a position of authority he is bound to consider carefully his own aptitudes4 ,he needs also to consider those who are to be subjects or constituents and make sure that they are of the kind his rule will fit4 ,the olive looks at the cedar and the terebinth and the palm4 ,will they admit his sovereignty by-and-by though now they vote for it8 ,men are taken with the candidate who makes a good impression by emphasizing what will please and suppressing opinions that may provoke dissent4 ,when they know him1 how will it be8 ,when criticism begins1 will the olive not be despised for its gnarled stem1 its crooked branches and dusky foliage8 ,the fable does not make the refusal of olive and fig-tree and vine rest on the comfort they enjoy in the humbler place4 ,that would be a mean and dishonourable reason for refusing to serve4 ,men who decline public office because they love an easy life find here no countenance4 ,it is for the sake of its fatness1 the oil it yields1 grateful to ,god and man in sacrifice and anointing1 that the olive-tree declines4 ,the fig-tree has its sweetness and the vine its grapes to yield4 ,and so men despising self-indulgence and comfort may be justified in putting aside a call to office4 ,the fruit of personal character developed in humble unobtrusive natural life is seen to be better than the more showy clusters forced by public demands4 ,yet1 on the other hand1 if one will not leave his books1 another his scientific hobbies1 a third his fireside1 a fourth his manufactory1 in order to take his place among the magistrates of a city or the legislators of a land the danger of bramble supremacy is near4 ,next a wretched ,abimelech will appear2 and what can be done but set him on high and put the reins in his hand8 ,unquestionably the claims of church or country deserve most careful weighing1 and even if there is a risk that character may lose its tender bloom the sacrifice must be made in obedience to an urgent call4 ,for a time1 at least1 the need of society at large must rule the loyal life4 ,the fable of ,jotham1 in so far as it flings sarcasm at the persons who desire eminence for the sake of it and not for the good they will be able to do1 is an example of that wisdom which is as unpopular now as ever it has been in human history1 and the moral needs every day to be kept full in view4 ,it is desire for distinction and power1 the opportunity of waving to and fro over the trees1 the right to use this handle and that to their names that will be found to make many eager1 not the distinct wish to accomplish something which the times and the country need4 ,those who solicit public office are far too often selfish1 not self-denying1 and even in the church there is much vain ambition4 ,but people will have it so4 ,the crowd follows him who is eager for the suffrages of the crowd and showers flattery and promises as he goes4 ,men are lifted into places they cannot fill1 and after keeping their seats unsteadily for a time they have to disappear into ignominy4 ,we pass here1 however1 beyond the meaning ,jotham desired to convey1 for1 as we have seen1 he would have justified every one in refusing to reign4 ,and certainly if society could be held together and guided without the exaltation of one over another1 by the fidelity of each to his own task and brotherly feeling between man and man1 there would be a far better state of things4 ,but while the fable expounds a ,god-impelled anarchy1 the ideal state of mankind1 our modern schemes1 omitting ,god1 repudiating the least notion of a supernatural fount of life1 turn upon themselves in hopeless confusion4 ,when the divine law rules every life we shall not need organised governments2 until then entire freedom in the world is but a name for unchaining every lust that degrades and darkens the life of man4 ,far away1 as a hope of the redeemed and ,christ-led race1 there shines the ideal ,theocracy revealed to the greater minds of the ,hebrew people1 often re-stated1 never realised4 ,but at present men need a visible centre of authority4 ,there must be administrators and executors of law1 there must be government and legislation till ,christ reigns in every heart4 ,the movement which resulted in ,abimelech's sovereignty was the blundering start in a series of experiments the ,hebrew tribes were bound to make1 as other nations had to make them4 ,we are still engaged in the search for a right system of social order1 and while fearers of ,god acknowledge the ideal towards which they labour1 they must endeavour to secure by personal toil and devotion1 by unwearying interest in affairs the most effective form of liberal yet firm government4 ,abimelech maintained himself in power for three years1 no doubt amid growing dissatisfaction4 ,then came the outburst which ,jotham had predicted4 ,an evil spirit1 really present from the first1 rose between ,abimelech and the men of ,shechem4 ,the bramble began to tear themselves1 a thing they were not prepared to endure4 ,once rooted however it was not easily got rid of4 ,one who knows the evil arts of betrayal is quick to suspect treachery1 the false person knows the ways of the false and how to fight them with their own weapons4 ,a man of high character may be made powerless by the disclosure of some true words he has spoken2 but when ,shechem would be rid of ,abimelech it has to employ brigands and organise robbery4 ,they set liers in wait for him in the mountains who robbed all that came along that way1 the merchants no doubt to whom ,abimelech had given a safe conduct4 ,shechem in fact became the head-quarters of a band of highwaymen whose crimes were condoned or even approved in the hope that one day the despot would be taken and an end put to his misrule4 ,it may appear strange that our attention is directed to these vulgar incidents1 as they may be called1 which were taking place in and about ,shechem4 ,why has the historian not chosen to tell us of other regions where some fear of ,god survived and guided the lives of men1 instead of giving in detail the intrigues and treacheries of ,abimelech and his rebellious subjects8 ,would we not much rather hear of the sanctuary and the worship1 of the tribe of ,judah and its development1 of men and women who in the obscurity of private life were maintaining the true faith and serving ,god in sincerity8 ,the answer must be partly that the contents of the history are determined by the traditions which survived when it was compiled4 ,doings like these at ,shechem keep their place in the memory of men not because they are important but because they impress themselves on popular feeling4 ,this was the beginning of the experiments which finally in ,samuel's time issued in the kingship of ,saul1 and although ,abimelech was1 properly speaking1 not a ,hebrew and certainly was no worshipper of ,jehovah1 yet the fact that he was king for a time gave importance to everything about him4 ,hence we have the full account of his rise and fall4 ,and yet the narrative before us has its value from the religious point of view4 ,it shows the disastrous result of that coalition with idolaters into which the ,hebrews about ,shechem entered1 it illustrates the danger of co-partnery with the worldly on worldly terms4 ,the confederacy of which ,shechem was the centre is a type of many in which people who should be guided always by religion bind themselves for business or political ends with those who have no fear of ,god before their eyes4 ,constantly it happens in such cases that the interests of the commercial enterprise or of the party are considered before the law of righteousness4 ,the business affair must be made to succeed at all hazards4 ,christian people as partners of companies are committed to schemes which imply ,sabbath work1 sharp practices in buying and selling1 hollow promises in prospectuses and advertisements1 grinding of the faces of the poor1 miserable squabbles about wages that should never occur4 ,in politics the like is frequently seen4 ,things are done against the true instincts of many members of a party2 but they1 for the sake of the party1 must be silent or even take their places on platforms and write in periodicals defending what in their souls and consciences they know to be wrong4 ,the modern ,baal-,berith is a tyrannical god1 ruins the morals of many a worshipper and destroys the peace of many a circle4 ,perhaps ,christian people will by-and-by become careful in regard to the schemes they join and the zeal with which they fling themselves into party strife4 ,it is high time they did4 ,even distinguished and pious leaders are unsafe guides when popular cries have to be gratified2 and if the principles of ,christianity are set aside by a government every ,christian church and every ,christian voice should protest1 come of parties what may4 ,or rather1 the party of ,christ1 which is always in the van1 ought to have our complete allegiance4 ,conservatism is sometimes right4 ,liberalism is sometimes right4 ,but to bow down to any ,baal of the ,league is a shameful thing for a professed servant of the ,king of kings4 ,against ,abimelech the adventurer there arose another of the same stamp1 ,gaal son of ,ebed1 that is the ,abhorred1 son of a slave4 ,in him the men of ,shechem put their confidence such as it was4 ,at the festival of vintage there was a demonstration of a truly barbarous sort4 ,high carousal was held in the temple of ,baal4 ,there were loud curses of ,abimelech and ,gaal made a speech4 ,his argument was that this ,abimelech1 though his mother belonged to ,shechem1 was yet also the son of ,baal's adversary1 far too much of a ,hebrew to govern ,canaanites and good servants of ,baal4 ,shechemites should have a true ,shechemite to rule them4 ,would to ,baal1 he cried1 this people were under my hand1 then would ,i remove ,abimelech4 ,his speech1 no doubt1 was received with great applause1 and there and then he challenged the absent king4 ,zebul1 prefect of the city1 who was present1 heard all this with anger4 ,he was of ,abimelech's party still and immediately informed his chief1 who lost no time in marching on ,shechem to suppress the revolt4 ,according to a common plan of warfare he divided his troops into four companies and in the early morning these crept towards the city1 one by a track across the mountains1 another down the valley from the west1 the third by way of the ,diviners' ,oak1 the fourth perhaps marching from the plain of ,mamre by way of ,jacob's well4 ,the first engagement drove the ,shechemites into their city1 and on the following day the place was taken1 sacked and destroyed4 ,some distance from ,shechem1 probably up the valley to the west1 stood a tower or sanctuary of ,baal around which a considerable village had gathered4 ,the people there1 seeing the fate of the lower town1 betook themselves to the tower and shut themselves up within it4 ,but ,abimelech ordered his men to provide themselves with branches of trees1 which were piled against the door of the temple and set on fire1 and all within were smothered or burned to the number of a thousand4 ,at ,thebez1 another of the confederate cities1 the pretender met his death4 ,in the siege of the tower which stood within the walls of ,thebez the horrible expedient of burning was again attempted4 ,abimelech directing the operations had pressed close to the door when a woman cast an upper millstone from the parapet with so true an aim as to break his skull4 ,so ended the first experiment in the direction of monarchy2 so also ,god requited the wickedness of ,abimelech4 ,one turns from these scenes of bloodshed and cruelty with loathing4 ,yet they show what human nature is1 and how human history would shape itself apart from the faith and obedience of ,god4 ,we are met by obvious warnings2 but so often does the evidence of divine judgment seem to fail1 so often do the wicked prosper that it is from another source than observation of the order of things in this world we must obtain the necessary impulse to higher life4 ,it is only as we wait on the guidance and obey the impulses of the ,spirit of ,god that we shall move towards the justice and brotherhood of a better age4 ,and those who have received the light and found the will of the ,spirit must not slacken their efforts on behalf of religion4 ,gideon did good service in his day1 yet failing in faithfulness he left the nation scarcely more earnest1 his own family scarcely instructed4 ,let us not think that religion can take care of itself4 ,heavenly justice and truth are committed to us4 ,the ,christ-life generous1 pure1 holy must be commended by us if it is to rule the world4 ,the persuasion that mankind is to be saved in and by the earthly survives1 and against that most obstinate of all delusions we are to stand in constant resolute protest1 counting every needful sacrifice our simple duty1 our highest glory4 ,the task of the faithful is no easier to-day than it was a thousand years ago4 ,men and women can be treacherous still with heathen cruelty and falseness2 they can be vile still with heathen vileness1 though wearing the air of the highest civilization4 ,if ever the people of ,god had a work to do in the world they have it now4 ,,xvi4 ,,gilead ,,and ,,its ,,chief4 ,,judges x4 #a-xi4 #aa4 ,the scene of the history shifts now to the east of ,jordan1 and we learn first of the influence which the region called ,gilead was coming to have in ,hebrew development from the brief notice of a chief named ,jair who held the position of judge for twenty-two years4 ,tola1 a man of ,issachar1 succeeded ,abimelech1 and ,jair followed ,tola4 ,in the ,book of ,numbers we are informed that the children of ,machir son of ,manasseh went to ,gilead and took it and dispossessed the ,amorites which were therein2 and ,moses gave ,gilead unto ,machir the son of ,manasseh4 ,it is added that ,jair the son or descendant of ,manasseh went and took the towns of ,gilead and called them ,havvoth-jair2 and in this statement the ,book of ,numbers anticipates the history of the judges4 ,gilead is described by modern travellers as one of the most varied districts of ,palestine4 ,the region is mountainous and its peaks rise to three and even four thousand feet above the trough of the ,jordan4 ,the southern part is beautiful and fertile1 watered by the ,jabbok and other streams that flow westward from the hills4 ,the valleys green with corn1 the streams fringed with oleander1 the magnificent screens of yellow-green and russet foliage which cover the steep slopes present a scene of quiet beauty1 of chequered light and shade of uneastern aspect which makes ,mount ,gilead a veritable land of promise4 ,no one1 says another writer1 can fairly judge of ,israel's heritage who has not seen the exuberance of ,gilead as well as the hard rocks of ,judaea which only yield their abundance to reward constant toil and care4 ,in ,gilead the rivers flow in summer as well as in winter1 and they are filled with fishes and fresh-water shells4 ,while in ,western ,palestine the soil is insufficient now to support a large population1 beyond ,jordan improved cultivation alone is needed to make the whole district a garden4 ,to the north and east of ,gilead lie ,bashan and that extraordinary volcanic region called the ,argob or the ,lejah where the ,havvoth-jair or towns of ,jair were situated4 ,the traveller who approaches this singular district from the north sees it rising abruptly from the plain1 the edge of it like a rampart about twenty feet high4 ,it is of a rude oval shape1 some twenty miles long from north to south1 and fifteen in breadth1 and is simply a mass of dark jagged rocks1 with clefts between in which were built not a few cities and villages4 ,the whole of this ,argob or ,stony ,land1 ,jephthah's land of ,tob1 is a natural fortification1 a sanctuary open only to those who have the secret of the perilous paths that wind along savage cliff and deep defile4 ,one who established himself here might soon acquire the fame and authority of a chief1 and ,jair1 acknowledged by the ,manassites as their judge1 extended his power and influence among the ,gadites and ,reubenites farther south4 ,but plenty of corn and wine and oil and the advantage of a natural fortress which might have been held against any foe did not avail the ,hebrews when they were corrupted by idolatry4 ,in the land of ,gilead and ,bashan they became a hardy and vigorous race1 and yet when they gave themselves up to the influence of the ,syrians1 ,sidonians1 ,ammonites and ,moabites1 forsaking the ,lord and serving the gods of these peoples1 disaster overtook them4 ,the ,ammonites were ever on the watch1 and now1 stronger than for centuries in consequence of the defeat of ,midian and ,amalek by ,gideon1 they fell on the ,hebrews of the east1 subdued them and even crossed ,jordan and fought with the southern tribes so that ,israel was sore distressed4 ,we have found reason to suppose that during the many turmoils of the north the tribes of ,judah and ,simeon and to some extent ,ephraim were pleased to dwell secure in their own domains1 giving little help to their kinsfolk4 ,deborah and ,barak got no troops from the south1 and it was with a grudge ,ephraim joined in the pursuit of ,midian4 ,now the time has come for the harvest of selfish content4 ,supposing the people of ,judah to have been specially engaged with religion and the arranging of worship--that did not justify their neglect of the political troubles of the north4 ,it was a poor religion then1 as it is a poor religion now1 that could exist apart from national well-being and patriotic duty4 ,brotherhood must be realised in the nation as well as in the church1 and piety must fulfil itself through patriotism as well as in other ways4 ,no doubt the duties we owe to each other and to the nation of which we form a part are imposed by natural conditions which have arisen in the course of history1 and some may think that the natural should give way to the spiritual4 ,they may see the interests of a kingdom of this world as actually opposed to the interests of the kingdom of ,god4 ,the apostles of ,christ1 however1 did not set the human and divine in contrast1 as if ,god in ,his providence had nothing to do with the making of a nation4 ,the powers that be are ordained of ,god1 says ,st4 ,paul in writing to the ,romans2 and again in his ,first ,epistle to ,timothy1 ,i exhort that supplications1 prayers1 intercessions1 thanksgivings be made for all men3 for kings and all that are in high place1 that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity4 ,to the same effect ,st4 ,peter says1 ,be subject to every ordinance of man for the ,lord's sake4 ,natural and secular enough were the authorities to which submission was thus enjoined4 ,the policy of ,rome was of the earth earthy4 ,the wars it waged1 the intrigues that went on for power savoured of the most carnal ambition4 ,yet as members of the commonwealth ,christians were to submit to the ,roman magistrates and intercede with ,god on their behalf1 observing closely and intelligently all that went on1 taking due part in affairs4 ,no room was to be given for the notion that the ,christian society meant a new political centre4 ,in our own times there is a duty which many never understand1 or which they easily imagine is being fulfilled for them4 ,let religious people be assured that generous and intelligent patriotism is demanded of them and attention to the political business of the time4 ,those who are careless will find1 as did the people of ,judah1 that in neglecting the purity of government and turning a deaf ear to cries for justice1 they are exposing their country to disaster and their religion to reproach4 ,we are told that the ,israelites of ,gilead worshipped the gods of the ,phoenicians and ,syrians1 of the ,moabites and of the ,ammonites4 ,whatever religious rites took their fancy they were ready to adopt4 ,this will be to their credit in some quarters as a mark of openness of mind1 intelligence and taste4 ,they were not bigoted2 other men's ways in religion and civilization were not rejected as beneath their regard4 ,the argument is too familiar to be traced more fully4 ,briefly it may be said that if catholicity could save a race ,israel should rarely have been in trouble1 and certainly not at this time4 ,one name by which the ,hebrews knew ,god was ,el or ,elohim4 ,when they found among the gods of the ,sidonians one called ,el1 the careless-minded supposed that there could be no harm in joining in his worship4 ,then came the notion that the other divinities of the ,phoenician ,pantheon1 such as ,melcarth1 ,dagon1 ,derketo1 might be adored as well4 ,very likely they found zeal and excitement in the alien religious gatherings which their own had lost4 ,so they slipped into practical heathenism4 ,and the process goes on among ourselves4 ,through the principles that culture means artistic freedom and that worship is a form of art we arrive at taste or liking as the chief test4 ,intensity of feeling is craved and religion must satisfy that or be despised4 ,it is the very error that led ,hebrews to the feasts of ,astarte and ,adonis1 and whither it tends we can see in the old history4 ,turning from the strong earnest gospel which grasps intellect and will to shows and ceremonies that please the eye1 or even to music refined and devotional that stirs and thrills the feelings1 we decline from the reality of religion4 ,moreover a serious danger threatens us in the far too common teaching which makes little of truth everything of charity4 ,christ was most charitable1 but it is through the knowledge and practice of truth ,he offers freedom4 ,he is our ,king by ,his witness-bearing not to charity but to truth4 ,those who are anxious to keep us from bigotry and tell us that meekness1 gentleness and love are more than doctrine mislead the mind of the age4 ,truth in regard to ,god and ,his covenant is the only foundation on which life can be securely built1 and without right thinking there cannot be right living4 ,a man may be amiable1 humble1 patient and kind though he has no doctrinal belief and his religion is of the purely emotional sort2 but it is the truth believed by previous generations1 fought and suffered for by stronger men1 not his own gratification of taste that keeps him in the right way4 ,and when the influence of that truth decays there will remain no anchorage1 neither compass nor chart for the voyage4 ,he will be like a wave of the sea driven of the wind and tossed4 ,again1 the religious so far as they have wisdom and strength are required to be pioneers1 which they can never be in following fancy or taste4 ,here nothing but strenuous thought1 patient faithful obedience can avail4 ,hebrew history is the story of a pioneer people and every lapse from fidelity was serious1 the future of humanity being at stake4 ,each ,christian society and believer has work of the same kind not less important1 and failures due to intellectual sloth and moral levity are as dishonourable as they are hurtful to the human race4 ,some of our heretics now are more serious than ,christians1 and they give thought and will more earnestly to the opinions they try to propagate4 ,while the professed servants of ,christ1 who should be marching in the van1 are amusing themselves with the accessories of religion1 the resolute socialist or nihilist reasoning and speaking with the heat of conviction leads the masses where he will4 ,the ,ammonite oppression made the ,hebrews feel keenly the uselessness of heathenism4 ,baal and ,melcarth had been thought of as real divinities1 exercising power in some region or other of earth or heaven1 and ,israel's had been an easy backsliding4 ,idolatry did not appear as darkness to people who had never been fully in the light4 ,but when trouble came and help was sorely needed they began to see that the ,baalim were nothing4 ,what could these idols do for men oppressed and at their wits' end8 ,religion was of no avail unless it brought an assurance of ,one ,whose strong hand could reach from land to land1 ,whose grace and favour could revive sad and troubled souls4 ,heathenism was found utterly barren1 and ,israel turned to ,jehovah the ,god of its fathers4 ,we have sinned against ,thee even because we have forsaken our ,god and have served the ,baalim4 ,those who now fall away from faith are in worse case by far than ,israel4 ,they have no thought of a real power that can befriend them4 ,it is to mere abstractions they have given the divine name4 ,in sin and sorrow alike they remain with ideas only1 with bare terms of speculation in which there is no life1 no strength1 no hope for the moral nature4 ,they are men and have to live2 but with the living ,god they have entirely broken4 ,in trouble they can only call on the ,abyss or the ,immensities1 and there is no way of repentance though they seek it carefully with tears4 ,at heart therefore they are pessimists without resource4 ,sadness deep and deadly ever waits upon such unbelief1 and our religion to-day suffers the gloom because it is infected by the uncertainties and denials of an agnosticism at once positive and confused4 ,another paganism1 that of gathering and doing in the world-sphere1 is constantly beside us1 drawing multitudes from fidelity to ,christ as ,baal-worship drew ,israel from ,jehovah1 and it is equally barren in the sharp experiences of humanity4 ,earthly things venerated in the ardour of business and the pursuit of social distinction appear as impressive realities only while the soul sleeps4 ,let it be aroused by some overturn of the usual1 one of those floods that sweep suddenly down on the cities which fill the valley of life1 and there is a quick pathetic confession of the truth4 ,the soul needs help now1 and its help must come from the ,eternal ,spirit4 ,we must have done with mere saying of prayers and begin to pray4 ,we must find access if access is to be had to the secret place of the ,most ,high on ,whose mercy we depend to redeem us from bondage and fear4 ,sad therefore is it for those who having never learned to seek the throne of divine succour are swept by the wild deluge from their temples and their gods4 ,it is a cry of despair they raise amid the swelling torrent4 ,you who now by the sacred oracles and the mediation of ,christ can come into the fellowship of eternal life be earnest and eager in the cultivation of your faith4 ,the true religion of ,god which avails the soul in its extremity is not to be had in a moment1 when suddenly its help is needed4 ,that confidence which has been established in the mind by serious thought1 by the habit of prayer and reliance on divine wisdom can alone bring help when the foundations of the earthly are destroyed4 ,to ,israel troubled and contrite came as on previous occasions a prophetic message2 and it was spoken by one of those incisive ironic preachers who were born from time to time among this strangely heathen1 strangely believing people4 ,it is in terms of earnest remonstrance he speaks1 at first almost going the length of declaring that there is no hope for the rebellious and ungrateful tribes4 ,they found it an easy thing to turn from their ,divine ,king to the gods they chose to worship4 ,now they perhaps expect as easy a recovery of ,his favour4 ,but healing must begin with deeper wounding1 and salvation with much keener anxiety4 ,this prophet knows the need for utter seriousness of soul4 ,as he loves and yearns over his country-folk he must so deal with them2 it is ,god's way1 the only way to save4 ,most irrationally1 against all sound principles of judgment they had abandoned the ,living ,one1 the ,eternal to worship hideous idols like ,moloch and ,dagon4 ,it was wicked because it was wilfully stupid and perverse4 ,and ,jehovah says1 ,i will save you no more4 ,go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen2 let them save you in the day of your distress4 ,the rebuke is stinging4 ,the preacher makes the people feel the wretched insufficiency of their hope in the false1 and the great strong pressure upon them of the ,almighty1 ,whom1 even in neglect1 they cannot escape4 ,we are pointed forward to the terrible pathos of ,jeremiah3--,who shall have pity upon thee1 ,o ,jerusalem8 or who shall bemoan thee8 or who shall turn aside to ask of thy welfare8 ,thou hast rejected me1 saith the ,lord1 thou art gone backward3 therefore have ,i stretched out my hand against thee1 and destroyed thee3 ,i am weary with repenting4 ,and notice to what state of mind the ,hebrews were brought4 ,renewing their confession they said1 ,do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto ,thee4 ,they would be content to suffer now at the hand of ,god whatever ,he chose to inflict on them4 ,they themselves would have exacted heavy tribute of a subject people that had rebelled and came suing for pardon4 ,perhaps they would have slain every tenth man4 ,jehovah might appoint retribution of the same kind2 ,he might afflict them with pestilence2 ,he might require them to offer a multitude of sacrifices4 ,men who traffic with idolatry and adopt gross notions of revengeful gods are certain to carry back with them when they return to the better faith many of the false ideas they have gathered4 ,and it is just possible that a demand for human sacrifices was at this time attributed to ,god1 the general feeling that they might be necessary connecting itself with ,jephthah's vow4 ,it is idle to suppose that ,israelites who persistently lapsed into paganism could at any time1 because they repented1 find the spiritual thoughts they had lost4 ,true those thoughts were at the heart of the national life1 there always even when least felt4 ,but thousands of ,hebrews even in a generation of reviving faith died with but a faint and shadowy personal understanding of ,jehovah4 ,everything in the ,book of ,judges goes to show that the mass of the people were nearer the level of their neighbours the ,moabites and ,ammonites than the piety of the ,psalms4 ,a remarkable ebb and flow are observable in the history of the race4 ,look at some facts and there seems to be decline4 ,samson is below ,gideon1 and ,gideon below ,deborah2 no man of leading until ,isaiah can be named with ,moses4 ,yet ever and anon there are prophetic calls and voices out of a spiritual region into which the people as a whole do not enter1 voices to which they listen only when distressed and overborne4 ,worldliness increases1 for the world opens to the ,hebrew2 but it often disappoints1 and still there are some to whom the heavenly secret is told4 ,the race as a whole is not becoming more devout and holy1 but the few are gaining a clearer vision as one experience after another is recorded4 ,the antithesis is the same we see in the ,christian centuries4 ,is the multitude more pious now than in the age when a king had to do penance for rash words spoken against an ecclesiastic8 ,are the churches less worldly than they were a hundred years ago8 ,scarcely may we affirm it4 ,yet there never was an age so rich as ours in the finest spirituality1 the noblest ,christian thought4 ,our van presses up to the ,simplon height and is in constant touch with those who follow2 but the rear is still chaffering and idling in the streets of ,milan4 ,it is in truth always by the fidelity of the remnant that humanity is saved for ,god4 ,we cannot say that when ,israel repented it was in the love of holiness so much as in the desire for liberty4 ,the ways of the heathen were followed readily1 but the supremacy of the heathen was ever abominable to the vigorous ,israelite4 ,by this national spirit however ,god could find the tribes1 and a special feature of the deliverance from ,ammon is marked where we read3 ,the people1 the princes of ,gilead said one to the other1 ,what man is he that will begin to fight against the children of ,ammon8 ,he shall be head over all the inhabitants of ,gilead4 ,looking around for the fit leader they found ,jephthah and agreed to invite him4 ,now this shows distinct progress in the growth of the nation4 ,there is1 if nothing more1 a growth in practical power4 ,abimelech had thrust himself upon the men of ,shechem4 ,jephthah is chosen apart from any ambition of his own4 ,the movement which made him judge arose out of the consciousness of the ,gileadites that they could act for themselves and were bound to act for themselves4 ,providence indicated the chief1 but they had to be instruments of providence in making him chief4 ,the vigour and robust intelligence of the men of ,eastern ,palestine come out here4 ,they lead in the direction of true national life4 ,while on the west of ,jordan there is a fatalistic disposition1 these men move4 ,gilead1 the separated country1 with the still ruder ,bashan behind it and the ,argob a resort of outlaws1 is beneath some other regions in manners and in thought1 but ahead of them in point of energy4 ,we need not look for refinement1 but we shall see power2 and the chosen leader while he is something of the barbarian will be a man to leave his mark on history4 ,at the start we are not prepossessed in favour of ,jephthah4 ,there is some confusion in the narrative which has led to the supposition that he was a foundling of the clan4 ,but taking ,gilead as the actual name of his father1 he appears as the son of a harlot1 brought up in the paternal home and banished from it when there were legitimate sons able to contend with him4 ,we get thus a brief glance at a certain rough standard of morals and see that even polygamy made sharp exclusions4 ,jephthah1 cast out1 betakes himself to the land of ,tob and getting about him a band of vain fellows or freebooters becomes the ,robin ,hood or ,rob ,roy of his time4 ,there are natural suspicions of a man who takes to a life of this kind1 and yet the progress of events shows that though ,jephthah was a sort of outlaw his character as well as his courage must have commended him4 ,he and his men might occasionally seize for their own use the cattle and corn of ,israelites when they were hard pressed for food4 ,but it was generally against the ,ammonites and other enemies their raids were directed1 and the modern instances already cited show that no little magnanimity and even patriotism may go along with a life of lawless adventure4 ,if this robber chief1 as some might call him1 now and again levied contributions from a wealthy flock-master1 the poorer ,hebrews were no doubt indebted to him for timely help when bands of ,ammonites swept through the land4 ,something of this we must read into the narrative otherwise the elders of ,gilead would not so unanimously and urgently have invited him to become their head4 ,jephthah was not at first disposed to believe in the good faith of those who gave him the invitation4 ,among the heads of households who came he saw his own brothers who had driven him to the hills4 ,he must have more than suspected that they only wished to make use of him in their emergency and1 the fighting over1 would set him aside4 ,he therefore required an oath of the men that they would really accept him as chief and obey him4 ,that given he assumed the command4 ,and here the religious character of the man begins to appear4 ,at ,mizpah on the verge of the wilderness where the ,israelites1 driven northward by the victories of ,ammon1 had their camp there stood an ancient cairn or heap of stones which preserved the tradition of a sacred covenant and still retained the savour of sanctity4 ,there it was that ,jacob fleeing from ,padan-aram on his way back to ,canaan was overtaken by ,laban1 and there raising the ,cairn of ,witness they swore in the sight of ,jehovah to be faithful to each other4 ,the belief still lingered that the old monument was a place of meeting between man and ,god4 ,to it ,jephthah repaired at this new point in his life4 ,no more an adventurer1 no more an outlaw1 but the chosen leader of eastern ,israel1 he spake all his words before ,jehovah in ,mizpah4 ,he had his life to review there1 and that could not be done without serious thought4 ,he had a new and strenuous future opened to him4 ,jephthah the outcast1 the unnamed1 was to be leader in a tremendous national struggle4 ,the bold ,gileadite feels the burden of the task4 ,he has to question himself1 to think of ,jehovah4 ,hitherto he has been doing his own business and to that he has felt quite equal2 now with large responsibility comes a sense of need4 ,for a fight with society he has been strong enough2 but can he be sure of himself as ,god's man1 fighting against ,ammon8 ,not a few words but many would he have to utter as on the hill-top in the silence he lifted up his soul to ,god and girt himself in holy resolution as a father and a ,hebrew to do his duty in the day of battle4 ,thus we pass from doubt of ,jephthah to the hope that the banished man1 the free-booter will yet prove to be an ,israelite indeed1 of sterling character1 whose religion1 very rude perhaps1 has a deep strain of reality and power4 ,jephthah at the cairn of ,mizpah lifting up his hands in solemn invocation of the ,god of ,jacob reminds us that there are great traditions of the past of our nation and of our most holy faith to which we are bound to be true1 that there is a ,god our witness and our judge in ,whose strength alone we can live and do nobly4 ,for the service of humanity and the maintenance of faith we need to be in close touch with the brave and good of other days and in the story of their lives find quickening for our own4 ,along the same line and succession we are to bear our testimony1 and no link of connection with the ,divine ,power is to be missed which the history of the men of faith supplies4 ,yet as our personal ,helper especially we must know ,god4 ,hearing ,his call to ourselves we must lift the standard and go forth to the battle of life4 ,who can serve his family and friends1 who can advance the well-being of the world1 unless he has entered into that covenant with the ,living ,god which raises mortal insufficiency to power and makes weak and ignorant men instruments of a divine redemption8 ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,terrible ,,vow4 ,,judges xi4 #ab-dj4 ,at every stage of their history the ,hebrews were capable of producing men of passionate religiousness4 ,and this appears as a distinction of the group of nations to which they belong4 ,the ,arab of the present time has the same quality4 ,he can be excited to a holy war in which thousands perish4 ,with the battle-cry of ,allah and his ,prophet he forgets fear4 ,he presents a different mingling of character from the ,saxon1--turbulence and reverence1 sometimes apart1 then blending--magnanimity and a tremendous want of magnanimity2 he is fierce and generous1 now rising to vivid faith1 then breaking into earthly passion4 ,we have seen the type in ,deborah4 ,david is the same and ,elijah2 and ,jephthah is the ,gileadite1 the border ,arab4 ,in each of these there is quick leaping at life and beneath hot impulse a strain of brooding thought with moments of intense inward trouble4 ,as we follow the history we must remember the kind of man it presents to us4 ,there is humanity as it is in every race1 daring in effort1 tender in affection1 struggling with ignorance yet thoughtful of ,god and duty1 triumphing here1 defeated there4 ,and there is the ,syrian with the heat of the sun in his blood and the shadow of ,moloch on his heart1 a son of the rude hills and of barbaric times1 yet with a dignity1 a sense of justice1 a keen upward look1 the ,israelite never lost in the outlaw4 ,so soon as ,jephthah begins to act for his people1 marks of a strong character are seen4 ,he is no ordinary leader1 not the mere fighter the elders of ,gilead may have taken him to be4 ,his first act is to send messengers to the king of ,ammon saying1 ,what hast thou to do with me that thou art come to fight against my land8 ,he is a chief who desires to avert bloodshed--a new figure in the history4 ,natural in those times was the appeal to arms1 so natural1 so customary that we must not lightly pass this trait in the character of the ,gileadite judge4 ,if we compare his policy with that of ,gideon or ,barak we see of course that he had different circumstances to deal with4 ,between ,jordan and the ,mediterranean the ,israelites required the whole of the land in order to establish a free nationality4 ,there was no room for ,canaanite or ,midianite rule side by side with their own4 ,the dominance of ,israel had to be complete and undisturbed4 ,hence there was no alternative to war when ,jabin or ,zebah and ,zalmunna attacked the tribes4 ,might had to be invoked on behalf of right4 ,on the other side ,jordan the position was different4 ,away towards the desert behind the mountains of ,bashan the ,ammonites might find pasture for their flocks1 and ,moab had its territory on the slopes of the lower ,jordan and the ,dead ,sea4 ,it was not necessary to crush ,ammon in order to give ,manasseh1 ,gad and ,reuben space enough and to spare4 ,yet there was a rare quality of judgment shown by the man who although called to lead in war began with negotiation and aimed at a peaceful settlement4 ,no doubt there was danger that the ,ammonites might unite with ,midian or ,moab against ,israel4 ,but ,jephthah hazards such a coalition4 ,he knows the bitterness kindled by strife4 ,he desires that ,ammon1 a kindred people1 shall be won over to friendliness with ,israel1 henceforth to be an ally instead of a foe4 ,now in one aspect this may appear an error in policy1 and the ,hebrew chief will seem especially to blame when he makes the admission that the ,ammonites hold their land from ,chemosh their god4 ,jephthah has no sense of ,israel's mission to the world1 no wish to convert ,ammon to a higher faith1 nor does ,jehovah appear to him as sole ,king1 sole object of human worship4 ,yet1 on the other hand1 if the ,hebrews were to fight idolatry everywhere it is plain their swords would never have been sheathed4 ,phoenicia was close beside2 ,aram was not far away2 northward the ,hittites maintained their elaborate ritual4 ,a line had to be drawn somewhere and1 on the whole1 we cannot but regard ,jephthah as an enlightened and humane chief who wished to stir against his people and his ,god no hostility that could possibly be avoided4 ,why should not ,israel conquer ,ammon by justice and magnanimity1 by showing the higher principles which the true religion taught8 ,he began at all events by endeavouring to stay the quarrel1 and the attempt was wise4 ,the king of ,ammon refused ,jephthah's offer to negotiate4 ,he claimed the land bounded by the ,arnon1 the ,jabbok and ,jordan as his own and demanded that it should be peaceably given up to him4 ,in reply ,jephthah denied the claim4 ,it was the ,amorites1 he said1 who originally held that part of ,syria4 ,sihon who was defeated in the time of ,moses was not an ,ammonite king1 but chief of the ,amorites4 ,israel had by conquest obtained the district in dispute1 and ,ammon must give place4 ,the full account given of these messages sent by ,jephthah shows a strong desire on the part of the narrator to vindicate ,israel from any charge of unnecessary warfare4 ,and it is very important that this should be understood1 for the inspiration of the historian is involved4 ,we know of nations that in sheer lust of conquest have attacked tribes whose land they did not need1 and we have read histories in which wars unprovoked and cruel have been glorified4 ,in after times the ,hebrew kings brought trouble and disaster on themselves by their ambition4 ,it would have been well if ,david and ,solomon had followed a policy like ,jephthah's rather than attempted to rival ,assyria and ,egypt4 ,we see an error rather than a cause of boasting when ,david put garrisons in ,syria of ,damascus3 strife was thereby provoked which issued in many a sanguinary war4 ,the ,hebrews should never have earned the character of an aggressive and ambitious people that required to be kept in check by the kingdoms around4 ,to this nation1 a worldly nation on the whole1 was committed a spiritual inheritance1 a spiritual task4 ,is it asked why being worldly the ,hebrews ought to have fulfilled a spiritual calling8 ,the answer is that their best men understood and declared the ,divine will1 and they should have listened to their best men4 ,their fatal mistake was1 as ,christ showed1 to deride their prophets1 to crush and kill the messengers of ,god4 ,and many other nations likewise have missed their true vocation being deluded by dreams of vast empire and earthly glory4 ,to combat idolatry was indeed the business of ,israel and especially to drive back the heathenism that would have overwhelmed its faith2 and often this had to be done with an earthly sword because liberty no less than faith was at stake4 ,but a policy of aggression was never the duty of this people4 ,the temperate messages of the ,hebrew chief to the king of ,ammon proved to be of no avail3 war alone was to settle the rival claims4 ,and this once clear ,jephthah lost no time in preparing for battle4 ,as one who felt that without ,god no man can do anything1 he sought assurance of divine aid2 and we have now to consider the vow which he made1 ever interesting on account of the moral problem it involves and the very pathetic circumstances which accompanied its fulfilment4 ,the terms of the solemn engagement under which ,jephthah came were these3--,if ,thou wilt indeed deliver the children of ,ammon into mine hand1 then it shall be that whatsoever 7,septuagint and ,vulgate1 whosoever7 cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me when ,i return in peace from the children of ,ammon shall be the ,lord's1 and ,i will offer it 7otherwise1 him7 for a burnt offering4 ,and here two questions arise2 the first1 what he could have meant by the promise2 the second1 whether we can justify him in making it4 ,as to the first1 the explicit designation to ,god of whatever came forth of the doors of his house points unmistakably to a human life as the devoted thing4 ,it would have been idle in an emergency like that in which ,jephthah found himself1 with a hazardous conflict impending that was to decide the fate of the eastern tribes at least1 to anticipate the appearance of an animal1 bullock1 goat or sheep1 and promise that in sacrifice4 ,the form of words used in the vow cannot be held to refer to an animal4 ,the chief is thinking of some one who will express joy at his success and greet him as a victor4 ,in the fulness of his heart he leaps to a wild savage mark of devotion4 ,it is a crisis alike for him and for the people and what can he do to secure the favour and help of ,jehovah8 ,too ready from his acquaintance with heathen sacrifices and ideas to believe that the ,god of ,israel will be pleased with the kind of offerings by which the gods of ,sidon and ,aram were honoured1 feeling himself as the chief of the ,hebrews bound to make some great and unusual sacrifice1 he does not promise that the captives taken in war shall be devoted to ,jehovah1 but some one of his own people is to be the victim4 ,the dedication shall be all the more impressive that the life given up is one of which he himself shall feel the loss4 ,a conqueror returning from war would1 in ordinary circumstances1 have loaded with gifts the first member of his household who came forth to welcome him4 ,jephthah vows to give that very person to ,god4 ,the insufficient religious intelligence of the man1 whose life had been far removed from elevating influences1 this once perceived--and we cannot escape from the facts of the case--the vow is parallel to others of which ancient history tells4 ,jephthah expects some servant1 some favourite slave to be the first4 ,there is a touch of barbaric grandeur and at the same time of ,roman sternness in his vow4 ,as a chief he has the lives of all his household entirely at his disposal4 ,to sacrifice one will be hard1 for he is a humane man2 but he expects that the offering will be all the more acceptable to the ,most ,high4 ,such are the ideas moral and religious from which his vow springs4 ,now we should like to find more knowledge and a higher vision in a leader of ,israel4 ,we would fain escape from the conclusion that a ,hebrew could be so ignorant of the divine character as ,jephthah appears2 and moved by such feelings many have taken a very different view of the matter4 ,the ,gileadite has1 for example1 been represented as fully aware of the ,mosaic regulations concerning sacrifice and the method for redeeming the life of a firstborn child2 that is to say he is supposed to have made his vow under cover of the ,levitical provision by which in case his daughter should first meet him he would escape the necessity of sacrificing her4 ,the rule in question could not1 however1 be stretched to a case like this4 ,but1 supposing it could1 is it likely that a man whose whole soul had gone out in a vow of life and death to ,god would reserve such a door of escape8 ,in that case the story would lose its terror indeed1 but also its power3 human history would be the poorer by one of the great tragic experiences wild and supernatural that show man struggling with thoughts above himself4 ,what did the ,gileadite know8 ,what ought he to have known8 ,we see in his vow a fatalistic strain2 he leaves it to chance or fate to determine who shall meet him4 ,there is also an assumption of the right to take into his own hands the disposal of a human life2 and this1 though most confidently claimed1 was entirely a factitious right4 ,it is one which mankind has ceased to allow4 ,further the purpose of offering a human being in sacrifice is unspeakably horrible to us4 ,but how differently these things must have appeared in the dim light which alone guided this man of lawless life in his attempt to make sure of ,god and honour ,him6 ,we have but to consider things that are done at the present day in the name of religion1 the lifelong devotion of young women in a nunnery1 for example1 and all the ceremonies which accompany that outrage on the divine order to see that centuries of ,christianity have not yet put an end to practices which under colour of piety are barbaric and revolting4 ,in the modern case a nun secluded from the world1 dead to the world1 is considered to be an offering to ,god4 ,the old conception of sacrifice was that the life must pass out of the world by way of death in order to become ,god's4 ,or again1 when the priest describing the devotion of his body says3 ,the essential1 the sacerdotal purpose to which it should be used is to die4 ,such death must be begun in chastity1 continued in mortification1 consummated in that actual death which is the priest's final oblation1 his last sacrifice1#f--the same superstition appears in a refined and mystical form4 #f ,henri ,perreyve4 ,his vow made1 the chief went forth to battle leaving in his home one child only1 a daughter beautiful1 high-spirited1 the joy of her father's heart4 ,she was a true ,hebrew girl and all her thought was that he1 her sire1 should deliver ,israel4 ,for this she longed and prayed4 ,and it was so4 ,the enthusiasm of ,jephthah's devotion to ,god was caught by his troops and bore them on irresistibly4 ,marching from ,mizpah in the land of ,bashan they crossed ,manasseh1 and south from ,mizpeh of ,gilead1 which was not far from the ,jabbok1 they found the ,ammonites encamped4 ,the first battle practically decided the campaign4 ,from ,aroer to ,minnith1 from the ,jabbok to the springs of ,arnon1 the course of flight and bloodshed extended1 until the invaders were swept from the territory of the tribes4 ,then came the triumphant return4 ,we imagine the chief as he approached his home among the hills of ,gilead1 his eagerness and exultation mingled with some vague alarm4 ,the vow he has made cannot but weigh upon his mind now that the performance of it comes so near4 ,he has had time to think what it implies4 ,when he uttered the words that involved a life the issue of war appeared doubtful4 ,perhaps the campaign would be long and indecisive4 ,he might have returned not altogether discredited1 yet not triumphant4 ,but he has succeeded beyond his expectation4 ,there can be no doubt that the offering is due to ,jehovah4 ,who then shall appear8 ,the secret of his vow is hid in his own breast4 ,to no man has he revealed his solemn promise2 nor has he dared in any way to interfere with the course of events4 ,as he passes up the valley with his attendants there is a stir in his rude castle4 ,the tidings of his coming have preceded him and she1 that dear girl who is the very apple of his eye1 his daughter1 his only child1 having already rehearsed her part1 goes forth eagerly to welcome him4 ,she is clad in her gayest dress4 ,her eyes are bright with the keenest excitement4 ,the timbrel her father once gave her1 on which she has often played to delight him1 is tuned to a chant of triumph4 ,she dances as she passes from the gate4 ,her father1 her father1 chief and victor6 ,and he8 ,a sudden horror checks his heart4 ,he stands arrested1 cold as stone1 with eyes of strange dark trouble fixed upon the gay young figure that welcomes him to home and rest and fame4 ,she flies to his arms1 but they do not open to her4 ,she looks at him1 for he has never repulsed her--and why now8 ,he puts forth his hands as if to thrust away a dreadful sight1 and what does she hear8 ,amid the sobs of a strong man's agony1 ,alas1 my daughter1 thou hast brought me very low 444 and thou art one of them that trouble me4 ,to startled ears the truth is slowly told4 ,she is vowed to the ,lord in sacrifice4 ,he cannot go back4 ,jehovah who gave the victory now claims the fulfilment of the oath4 ,we are dealing with the facts of life4 ,for a time let us put aside the reflections that are so easy to make about rash vows and the iniquity of keeping them4 ,before this anguish of the loving heart1 this awful issue of a sincere but superstitious devotion we stand in reverence4 ,it is one of the supreme hours of humanity4 ,will the father not seek relief from his obligation8 ,will the daughter not rebel8 ,surely a sacrifice so awful will not be completed4 ,yet we remember ,abraham and ,isaac journeying together to ,moriah1 and how with the father's resignation of his great hope there must have gone the willingness of the son to face death if that last proof of piety and faith is required4 ,we look at the father and daughter of a later date and find the same spirit of submission to what is regarded as the will of ,god4 ,is the thing horrible--too horrible to be dwelt upon8 ,are we inclined to say1 444 ',heaven heads the count of crimes ,with that wild oath8' ,she renders answer high1 ',not so2 nor once alone1 a thousand times ,i would be born and die4' ,it has been affirmed that ,jephthah's rash act1 springing from a culpable ignorance of the character of ,god1 directed by heathen superstition and cruelty poured an ingredient of extreme bitterness into his cup of joy and poisoned his whole life4 ,suffering indeed there must have been for both the actors in that pitiful tragedy of devotion and ignorance1 who knew not the ,god to ,whom they offered the sacrifice4 ,but it is one of the marks of rude erring man that he does take upon himself such burdens of pain in the service of the invisible ,lord4 ,a shallow scepticism entirely misreads the strange dark deeds often done for religion2 yet one who has uttered many a foolish thing in the way of explaining piety can at last confess that the renouncing mortifying spirit is1 with all its errors1 one of man's noble and distinguishing qualities4 ,to ,jephthah1 as to his heroic daughter1 religion was another thing than it is to many1 just because of their extraordinary renunciation4 ,very ignorant they were surely1 but they were not so ignorant as those who make no great offering to ,god1 who would not resign a single pleasure1 nor deprive a son or daughter of a single comfort or delight1 for the sake of religion and the higher life4 ,to what purpose is this waste8 said the disciples1 when the pound of ointment of spikenard very costly was poured on the head of ,jesus and the house was filled with the odour4 ,to many now it seems waste to expend thought1 time or money upon a sacred cause1 much more to hazard or to give life itself4 ,we see the evils of enthusiastic self-devotion to the work of ,god very clearly2 its power we do not feel4 ,we are saving life so diligently1 many of us1 that we may well fear to lose it irremediably4 ,there is no strain and therefore no strength1 no joy4 ,a weary pessimism dogs our unfaith4 ,to ,jephthah and his daughter the vow was sacred1 irrevocable4 ,the deliverance of ,israel by so signal and complete a victory left no alternative4 ,it would have been well if they had known ,god differently2 yet better this darkly impressive issue which went to the making of ,hebrew faith and strength than easy unfruitful evasion of duty4 ,we are shocked by the expenditure of fine feeling and heroism in upholding a false idea of ,god and obligation to ,him2 but are we outraged and distressed by the constant effort to escape from ,god which characterizes our age8 ,and have we for our own part come yet to the right idea of self and its relations8 ,our century1 beclouded on many points1 is nowhere less informed than in matters of self-sacrifice2 ,christ's doctrine is still uncomprehended4 ,jephthah was wrong1 for ,god did not need to be bribed to support a man who was bent on doing his duty4 ,and many fail now to perceive that personal development and service of ,god are in the same line4 ,life is made for generosity not mortification1 for giving in glad ministry not for giving up in hideous sacrifice4 ,it is to be devoted to ,god by the free and holy use of body1 mind and soul in the daily tasks which ,providence appoints4 ,the wailing of ,jephthah's daughter rings in our ears bearing with it the anguish of many a soul tormented in the name of that which is most sacred1 tormented by mistakes concerning ,god1 the awful theory that ,he is pleased with human suffering4 ,the relics of that hideous ,moloch-worship which polluted ,jephthah's faith1 not even yet purged away by the ,spirit of ,christ1 continue and make religion an anxiety and life a kind of torture4 ,i do not speak of that devotion of thought and time1 eloquence and talent to some worthless cause which here and there amazes the student of history and human life1--the passionate ardour1 for example1 with which ,flora ,macdonald gave herself up to the service of a ,stuart4 ,but religion is made to demand sacrifices compared to which the offering of ,jephthah's daughter was easy4 ,the imagination of women especially1 fired by false representations of the death of ,christ in which there was a clear divine assertion of self1 while it is made to appear as complete suppression of self1 bears many on in a hopeless and essentially immoral endeavour4 ,has ,god given us minds1 feelings1 right ambitions that we may crush them8 ,does ,he purify our desires and aspirations by the fire of ,his own ,spirit and still require us to crush them8 ,are we to find our end in being nothing1 absolutely nothing1 devoid of will1 of purpose1 of personality8 ,is this what ,christianity demands8 ,then our religion is but refined suicide1 and the ,god who desires us to annihilate ourselves is but the ,supreme ,being of the ,buddhists1 if those may be said to have a god who regard the suppression of individuality as salvation4 ,christ was made a sacrifice for us4 ,yes3 ,he sacrificed everything except ,his own eternal life and power2 ,he sacrificed ease and favour and immediate success for the manifestation of ,god4 ,so ,he achieved the fulness of personal might and royalty4 ,and every sacrifice ,his religion calls us to make is designed to secure that enlargement and fulness of spiritual individuality in the exercise of which we shall truly serve ,god and our fellows4 ,does ,god require sacrifice8 ,yes1 unquestionably--the sacrifice which every reasonable being must make in order that the mind1 the soul may be strong and free1 sacrifice of the lower for the higher1 sacrifice of pleasure for truth1 of comfort for duty1 of the life that is earthly and temporal for the life that is heavenly and eternal4 ,and the distinction of ,christianity is that it makes this sacrifice supremely reasonable because it reveals the higher life1 the heavenly hope1 the eternal rewards for which the sacrifice is to be made1 that it enables us in making it to feel ourselves united to ,christ in a divine work which is to issue in the redemption of mankind4 ,there are not a few popularly accepted guides in religion who fatally misconceive the doctrine of sacrifice4 ,they take man-made conditions for ,divine opportunities and calls4 ,their arguments come home not to the selfish and overbearing1 but to the unselfish and long-suffering members of society1 and too often they are more anxious to praise renunciation--any kind of it1 for any purpose1 so it involve acute feeling--than to magnify truth and insist on righteousness4 ,it is women chiefly these arguments affect1 and the neglect of pure truth and justice with which women are charged is in no small degree the result of false moral and religious teaching4 ,they are told that it is good to renounce and suffer even when at every step advantage is taken of their submission and untruth triumphs over generosity4 ,they are urged to school themselves to humiliation and loss not because ,god appoints these but because human selfishness imposes them4 ,the one clear and damning objection to the false doctrine of self-suppression is here3 it makes sin4 ,those who yield where they should protest1 who submit where they should argue and reprove1 make a path for selfishness and injustice and increase evil instead of lessening it4 ,they persuade themselves that they are bearing the cross after ,christ2 but what in effect are they doing8 ,the missionary amongst ignorant heathen has to bear to the uttermost as ,christ bore4 ,but to give so-called ,christians a power of oppression and exaction is to turn the principles of religion upside down and hasten the doom of those for whom the sacrifice is made4 ,when we meddle with truth and righteousness even in the name of piety we simply commit sacrilege1 we range ourselves with the wrong and unreal2 there is no foundation under our faith and no moral result of our endurance and self-denial4 ,we are selling ,christ not following ,him4 ,,xviii4 ,,shibboleths4 ,,judges xii4 #a-g4 ,while ,jephthah and his ,gileadites were engaged in the struggle with ,ammon jealous watch was kept over all their movements by the men of ,ephraim4 ,as the head tribe of the house of ,joseph occupying the centre of ,palestine ,ephraim was suspicious of all attempts and still more of every success that threatened its pride and pre-eminence4 ,we have seen ,gideon in the hour of his victory challenged by this watchful tribe1 and now a quarrel is made with ,jephthah who has dared to win a battle without its help4 ,what were the ,gileadites that they should presume to elect a chief and form an army8 ,fugitives from ,ephraim who had gathered in the shaggy forests of ,bashan and among the cliffs of the ,argob1 mere adventurers in fact1 what right had they to set up as the protectors of ,israel8 ,the ,ephraimites found the position intolerable4 ,the vigour and confidence of ,gilead were insulting4 ,if a check were not put on the energy of the new leader might he not cross the ,jordan and establish a tyranny over the whole land8 ,there was a call to arms1 and a large force was soon marching against ,jephthah's camp to demand satisfaction and submission4 ,the pretext that ,jephthah had fought against ,ammon without asking the ,ephraimites to join him was shallow enough4 ,the invitation appears to have been given2 and even without an invitation ,ephraim might well have taken the field4 ,but the savage threat1 ,we will burn thine house upon thee with fire1 showed the temper of the leaders in this expedition4 ,the menace was so violent that the ,gileadites were roused at once and1 fresh from their victory over ,ammon1 they were not long in humbling the pride of the great western clan4 ,one may well ask1 ,where is ,ephraim's fear of ,god8 ,why has there been no consultation of the priests at ,shiloh by the tribe under whose care the sanctuary is placed8 ,the great ,jewish commentary affirms that the priests were to blame1 and we cannot but agree4 ,if religious influences and arguments were not used to prevent the expedition against ,gilead they should have been used4 ,the servants of the oracle might have understood the duty of the tribes to each other and of the whole nation to ,god and done their utmost to avert civil war4 ,unhappily1 however1 professed interpreters of the divine will are too often forward in urging the claims of a tribe or favouring the arrogance of a class by which their own position is upheld4 ,as on the former occasion when ,ephraim interfered1 so in this we scarcely go beyond what is probable in supposing that the priests declared it to be the duty of faithful ,israelites to check the career of the eastern chief and so prevent his rude and ignorant religion from gaining dangerous popularity4 ,bishop ,wordsworth has seen a fanciful resemblance between ,jephthah's campaign against ,ammon and the revival under the ,wesleys and ,whitefield which as a movement against ungodliness put to shame the sloth of the ,church of ,england4 ,he has remarked on the scorn and disdain--and he might have used stronger terms--with which the established clergy assailed those who apart from them were successfully doing the work of ,god4 ,this was an example of far more flagrant tribal jealousy than that of ,ephraim and her priests2 and have there not been cases of religious leaders urging retaliation upon enemies or calling for war in order to punish what was absurdly deemed an outrage on national honour8 ,with facts of this kind in view we can easily believe that from ,shiloh no word of peace1 but on the other hand words of encouragement were heard when the chiefs of ,ephraim began to hold councils of war and to gather their men for the expedition that was to make an end of ,jephthah4 ,let it be allowed that ,ephraim1 a strong tribe1 the guardian of the ark of ,jehovah1 much better instructed than the ,gileadites in the divine law1 had a right to maintain its place4 ,but the security of high position lies in high purpose and noble service2 and an ,ephraim ambitious of leading should have been forward on every occasion when the other tribes were in confusion and trouble4 ,when a political party or a church claims to be first in regard for righteousness and national well-being it should not think of its own credit or continuance in power but of its duty in the war against injustice and ungodliness4 ,the favour of the great1 the admiration of the multitude should be nothing to either church or party4 ,to rail at those who are more generous1 more patriotic1 more eager in the service of truth1 to profess a fear of some ulterior design against the constitution or the faith1 to turn all the force of influence and eloquence and even of slander and menace against the disliked neighbour instead of the real enemy1 this is the nadir of baseness4 ,there are ,ephraims still1 strong tribes in the land1 that are too much exercised in putting down claims1 too little in finding principles of unity and forms of practical brotherhood4 ,we see in this bit of history an example of the humiliation that sooner or later falls on the jealous and the arrogant2 and every age is adding instances of a like kind4 ,civil war1 at all times lamentable1 appears peculiarly so when the cause of it lies in haughtiness and distrust4 ,we have found however that1 beneath the surface1 there may have been elements of division and ill-will serious enough to require this painful remedy4 ,the campaign may have prevented a lasting rupture between the eastern and western tribes1 a separation of the stream of ,israel's religion and nationality into rival currents4 ,it may also have arrested a tendency to ecclesiastical narrowness1 which at this early stage would have done immense harm4 ,it is quite true that ,gilead was rude and uninstructed1 as ,galilee had the reputation of being in the time of our ,lord4 ,but the leading tribes or classes of a nation are not entitled to overbear the less enlightened1 nor by attempts at tyranny to drive them into separation4 ,jephthah's victory had the effect of making ,ephraim and the other western tribes understand that ,gilead had to be reckoned with1 whether for weal or woe1 as an integral and important part of the body politic4 ,in ,scottish history1 the despotic attempt to thrust ,episcopacy on the nation was the cause of a distressing civil war2 a people who would not fall in with the forms of religion that were in favour at head-quarters had to fight for liberty4 ,despised or esteemed they resolved to keep and use their rights1 and the religion of the world owes a debt to the ,covenanters4 ,then in our own times1 lament as we may the varied forms of antagonism to settled faith and government1 that enmity of which communism and anarchism are the delirium1 it would be simply disastrous to suppress it by sheer force even if the thing were possible4 ,surely those who are certain they have right on their side need not be arrogant4 ,the overbearing temper is always a sign of hollow principle as well as of moral infirmity4 ,was any ,gilead ever put down by a mere assertion of superiority1 even on the field of battle8 ,let the truth be acknowledged that only in freedom lies the hope of progress in intelligence1 in constitutional order and purity of faith4 ,the great problems of national life and development can never be settled as ,ephraim tried to settle the movement beyond ,jordan4 ,the idea of life expands and room must be left for its enlargement4 ,the many lines of thought1 of personal activity1 of religious and social experiment leading to better ways or else proving by-and-by that the old are best--all these must have place in a free state4 ,the threats of revolution that trouble nations would die away if this were clearly understood2 and we read history in vain if we think that the old autocracies or aristocracies will ever approve themselves again1 unless indeed they take far wiser and more ,christian forms than they had in past ages4 ,the thought of individual liberty once firmly rooted in the minds of men1 there is no going back to the restraints that were possible before it was familiar4 ,government finds another basis and other duties4 ,a new kind of order arises which attempts no suppression of any idea or sincere belief and allows all possible room for experiments in living4 ,unquestionably this altered condition of things increases the weight of moral responsibility4 ,in ordering our own lives as well as in regulating custom and law we need to exercise the most serious care1 the most earnest thought4 ,life is not easier because it has greater breadth and freedom4 ,each is thrown back more upon conscience1 has more to do for his fellow-men and for ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we pass now to the end of the campaign and the scene at the fords of ,jordan1 when the ,gileadites1 avenging themselves on ,ephraim1 used the notable expedient of asking a certain word to be pronounced in order to distinguish friend from foe4 ,to begin with1 the slaughter was quite unnecessary4 ,if bloodshed there had to be1 that on the field of battle was certainly enough4 ,the wholesale murder of the fugitives of ,ephraim1 so called with reference to their own taunt1 was a passionate and barbarous deed4 ,those who began the strife could not complain2 but it was the leaders of the tribe who rushed on war1 and now the rank and file must suffer4 ,had ,ephraim triumphed the defeated ,gileadites would have found no quarter2 victorious they gave none4 ,we may trust1 however1 that the number forty-two thousand represents the total strength of the army that was dispersed and not those left dead on the field4 ,the expedient used at the fords turned on a defect or peculiarity of speech4 ,shibboleth perhaps meant stream4 ,of each man who came to the stream of ,jordan wishing to pass to the other side it was required that he should say ,shibboleth4 ,the ,ephraimites tried but said ,sibboleth instead1 and so betraying their west-country birth they pronounced their own doom4 ,the incident has become proverbial and the proverbial use of it is widely suggestive4 ,first1 however1 we may note a more direct application4 ,do we not at times observe how words used in common speech1 phrases or turns of expression betray a man's upbringing or character1 his strain of thought and desire8 ,it is not necessary to lay traps for men1 to put it to them how they think on this point or that in order to discover where they stand and what they are4 ,listen and you will hear sooner or later the ,sibboleth that declares the son of ,ephraim4 ,in religious circles1 for example1 men are found who appear to be quite enthusiastic in the service of ,christianity1 eager for the success of the church1 and yet on some occasion a word1 an inflexion or turn of the voice will reveal to the attentive listener a constant worldliness of mind1 a worship of self mingling with all they think and do4 ,you notice that and you can prophesy what will come of it4 ,in a few months or even weeks the show of interest will pass4 ,there is not enough praise or deference to suit the egotist1 he turns elsewhere to find the applause which he values above everything4 ,again1 there are words somewhat rude1 somewhat coarse1 which in carefully ordered speech a man may not use2 but they fall from his lips in moments of unguarded freedom or excitement4 ,the man does not speak half in the language of ,ashdod2 he particularly avoids it4 ,yet now and again a lapse into the ,philistine dialect1 a something muttered rather than spoken betrays the secret of his nature4 ,it would be harsh to condemn any one as inherently bad on such evidence4 ,the early habits1 the sins of past years thus unveiled may be those against which he is fighting and praying4 ,yet1 on the other hand1 the hypocrisy of a life may terribly show itself in these little things2 and every one will allow that in choosing our companions and friends we ought to be keenly alive to the slightest indications of character4 ,there are fords of ,jordan to which we come unexpectedly1 and without being censorious we are bound to observe those with whom we purpose to travel further4 ,here1 however1 one of the most interesting and1 for our time1 most important points of application is to be found in the self-disclosure of writers--those who produce our newspapers1 magazines1 novels1 and the like4 ,touching on religion and on morals certain of these writers contrive to keep on good terms with the kind of belief that is popular and pays4 ,but now and again1 despite efforts to the contrary1 they come on the ,shibboleth which they forget to pronounce aright4 ,some among them who really care nothing for ,christianity and have no belief whatever in revealed religion1 would yet pass for interpreters of religion and guides of conduct4 ,christian morality and worship they barely endure2 but they cautiously adjust every phrase and reference so as to drive away no reader and offend no devout critic2 that is1 they aim at doing so2 now and again they forget themselves4 ,we catch a word1 a touch of flippancy1 a suggestion of licence1 a covert sneer which goes too far by a hairsbreadth4 ,the evil lies in this that they are teaching multitudes to say ,sibboleth along with them4 ,what they say is so pleasant1 so deftly said1 with such an air of respect for moral authority that suspicion is averted1 the very elect are for a time deceived4 ,indeed we are almost driven to think that ,christians not a few are quite ready to accept the unbelieving ,sibboleth from sufficiently distinguished lips4 ,a little more of this lubricity and there will have to be a new and resolute sifting at the fords4 ,the propaganda is villainously active and without intelligent and vigorous opposition it will proceed to further audacity4 ,it is not a few but scores of this sect who have the ear of the public and even in religious publications are allowed to convey hints of earthliness and atheism4 ,a covert worship of ,mammon and of ,venus goes on in the temple professedly dedicated to ,christ1 and one cannot be sure that a seemingly pious work will not vend some doctrine of devils4 ,it is time for a slaughter in ,god's name of many a false reputation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but there are ,shibboleths of party1 and we must be careful lest in trying others we use some catchword of our own ,gilead by which to judge their religion or their virtue4 ,the danger of the earnest1 alike in religion1 politics and philanthropy1 is to make their own favourite plans or doctrines the test of all worth and belief4 ,within our churches and in the ranks of social reformers distinctions are made where there should be none and old strifes are deepened4 ,there are of course certain great principles of judgment4 ,christianity is founded on historical fact and revealed truth4 ,every spirit which confesseth that ,jesus ,christ is come in the flesh is of ,god4 ,in such a saying lies a test which is no tribal ,shibboleth4 ,and on the same level are others by which we are constrained at all hazards to try ourselves and those who speak and write4 ,certain points of morality are vital and must be pressed4 ,when a writer says1 ,in mediaeval times the recognition that every natural impulse in a healthy and mature being has a claim to gratification was a victory of unsophisticated nature over the asceticism of ,christianity--we use no ,shibboleth-test in condemning him4 ,he is judged and found wanting by principles on which the very existence of human society depends4 ,it is in no spirit of bigotry but in faithfulness to the essentials of life and the hope of mankind that the sternest denunciation is hurled at such a man4 ,in plain terms he is an enemy of the race4 ,passing from cases like this1 observe others in which a measure of dogmatism must be allowed to the ardent4 ,where there are no strong opinions strenuously held and expressed little impression will be made4 ,the prophets in every age have spoken dogmatically2 and vehemence of speech is not to be denied to the temperance reformer1 the apostle of purity1 the enemy of luxurious self-indulgence and cant4 ,moral indignation must express itself strongly2 and in the dearth of moral conviction we can bear with those who would even drag us to the ford and make us utter their ,shibboleth4 ,they go too far1 people say3 perhaps they do2 but there are so many who will not move at all except in the way of pleasure4 ,now all this is clear4 ,but we must return to the danger of making one aspect of morality the sole test of morals1 one religious idea the sole test of religion and so framing a formula by which men separate themselves from their friends and pass narrow bitter judgments on their kinsfolk4 ,let sincere belief and strong feeling rise to the prophetic strain2 let there be ardour1 let there be dogmatism and vehemence4 ,but beyond urgent words and strenuous example1 beyond the effort to persuade and convert there lie arrogance and the usurpation of a judgment which belongs to ,god alone4 ,in proportion as a ,christian is living the life of ,christ he will repel the claim of any other man however devout to force his opinion or his action4 ,all attempts at terrorism betray a lack of spirituality4 ,the ,inquisition was in reality the world oppressing spiritual life4 ,and so in less degree1 with less truculence1 the unspiritual element may show itself even in company with a fervent desire to serve the gospel4 ,there need be no surprise that attempts to dictate to ,christendom or any part of ,christendom are warmly resented by those who know that religion and liberty cannot be separated4 ,the true church of ,christ has a firm grasp of what it believes and is aiming at1 and by its resoluteness it bears on human society4 ,it is also gracious and persuasive1 reasonable and open1 and so gathers men into a free and frank brotherhood1 revealing to them the loftiest duty1 leading them towards it in the way of liberty4 ,let men who understand this try each other and it will never be by limited and suspicious formulae4 ,amidst pedants1 critics1 hot and bitter partisans1 we see ,christ moving in divine freedom4 ,fine is the subtlety of ,his thought in which the ideas of spiritual liberty and of duty blend to form one luminous strain4 ,fine are the clearness and simplicity of that daily life in which ,he becomes the way and the truth to men4 ,it is the ideal life1 beyond all mere rules1 disclosing the law of the kingdom of heaven2 it is free and powerful because upheld by the purpose that underlies all activity and development4 ,are we endeavouring to realize it8 ,scarcely at all3 the bonds are multiplying not falling away2 no man is bold to claim his right1 nor generous to give others their room4 ,in this age of ,christ we seem neither to behold nor desire ,his manhood4 ,shall this always be8 ,shall there not arise a race fit for liberty because obedient1 ardent1 true8 ,shall we not come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the ,son of ,god unto a perfect man1 unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ8 99 99 99 99 99 ,for a little we must return to ,jephthah1 who after his great victory and his strange dark act of faith judged ,israel but six years4 ,he appears in striking contrast to other chiefs of his time and even of far later times in the purity of his home life1 the more notable that his father set no example of good4 ,perhaps the legacy of dispeace and exile bequeathed to him with a tainted birth had taught the ,gileadite1 rude mountaineer as he was1 the value of that order which his people too often despised4 ,the silence of the history which is elsewhere careful to speak of wives and children sets ,jephthah before us as a kind of puritan1 with another and perhaps greater distinction than the desire to avoid war4 ,the yearly lament for his daughter kept alive the memory not only of the heroine but of one judge in ,israel who set a high example of family life4 ,a sad and lonely man he went those few years of his rule in ,gilead1 but we may be sure that the character and will of the ,holy ,one became more clear to him after he had passed the dreadful hill of sacrifice4 ,the story is of the old world1 terrible2 yet we have found in ,jephthah a sublime sincerity1 and we may believe that such a man though he never repented of his vow would come to see that the ,god of ,israel demanded another and a nobler sacrifice1 that of life devoted to ,his righteousness and truth4 ,,xix4 ,,the ,,angel ,,in ,,the ,,field4 ,,judges xiii4 #a-ah4 ,in our ignorance not in our knowledge1 in our blindness not in our light we call nature secular and think of the ordinary course of events as a series of cold operations1 governed by law and force1 having nothing to do with divine purpose and love4 ,oftentimes we think so1 and suffer because we do not understand4 ,it is a pitiful error4 ,the natural could not exist1 there could be neither substance nor order without the over-nature which is at once law and grace4 ,vitality1 movement are not an efflorescence heralding decay--as to the atheist2 they are not the activity of an evil spirit--as sometimes to confused and falsely instructed faith4 ,they are the outward and visible action of ,god1 the hem of the vesture on which we lay hold and feel ,him4 ,in the seen and temporal there is a constant presence maintaining order1 giving purpose and end4 ,were it otherwise man could not live an hour2 even in selfishness and vileness he is a creature of two worlds which yet are one1 so closely are they interwoven4 ,at every point natural and supernatural are blended1 the higher shaping the development of the lower1 accomplishing in and through the lower a great spiritual plan4 ,this it is which gives depth and weight to our experience1 communicating the dignity of the greatest moral and spiritual issues to the meanest1 darkest human life4 ,everywhere1 always1 man touches ,god though he know ,him not4 ,no surprise1 therefore1 is excited by the modes of speech and thought we come upon as we read ,scripture4 ,the surprise would be in not coming upon them4 ,if we found the inspired writers divorcing ,god from the world and thinking of nature as a dark chamber of sin and torture echoing with ,his curse1 there would be no profit in studying this old volume4 ,then indeed we might turn from it in discontent and scorn1 even as some cast it aside just because it is the revelation of ,god dwelling with men upon the earth4 ,but what do the writers of faith mean when they tell of divine messengers coming to peasants at labour in the fields1 speaking to them of events common to the race--the birth of some child1 the defeat of a rival tribe--as affairs of the spiritual even more than of the temporal region8 ,the narratives simple yet daring which affirm the mingling of divine purpose and action with human life give us the deepest science1 the one real philosophy4 ,why do we have to care and suffer for each other8 ,what are our sin and sorrow8 ,these are not material facts2 they are of quite another range4 ,always man is more than dust1 better or worse than clay4 ,human lives are linked together in a gracious and awful order the course of which is now clearly marked1 now obscurely traceable2 and if it were in our power to revive the history of past ages1 to mark the operation of faith and unbelief among men1 issuing in virtue and nobleness on the one hand1 in vice and lethargy on the other1 we should see how near heaven is to earth1 how rational a thing is prophecy1 not only as relating to masses of men but to particular lives4 ,it is our stupidity not our wisdom that starts back from revelations of the over-world as if they confused what would otherwise be clear4 ,in more than one story of the ,bible the motherhood of a simple peasant woman is a cause of divine communications and supernatural hopes4 ,is this amazing1 incredible8 ,what then is motherhood itself8 ,in the coming and care of frail existences1 the strange blending in one great necessity of the glad and the severe1 the honourable and the humiliating1 with so many possibilities of failure in duty1 of error and misunderstanding ere the needful task is finished1 death ever waiting on life1 and agony on joy--in all this do we not find such a manifestation of the higher purpose as might well be heralded by words and signs8 ,only the order of ,god and ,his redemption can explain this nature4 ,right in the path of atheistic reasoners1 and of others not atheists1 lie facts of human life which on their theory of naturalism are simply confounding1 too great at once for the causes they admit and the ends they foresee4 ,and if reason denies the possibility of prediction relating to these facts we need not wonder4 ,without philosophy or faith the range of denial is unlimited4 ,from the quaint and simple narrative before us the imaginative rationalist turns away with the one word--myth4 ,his criticism is of a sort which for all its ease and freedom gives the world nothing4 ,we desire to know why the human mind harbours thoughts of the kind1 why it has ideas of ,god and of a supernatural order1 and how these work in developing the race4 ,have they been of service8 ,have they given strength and largeness to poor rude lives and so proved a great reality8 ,if so1 the word myth is inadmissible4 ,it sets falsehood at the source of progress and of good4 ,here are two ,hebrew peasants1 in a period of ,philistine domination more than a thousand years before the ,christian era4 ,of their condition we know only what a few brief sentences can tell in a history concerned chiefly with the facts of a divine order in which men's lives have an appointed place and use4 ,it is certain that a thorough knowledge of this ,danite family1 its own history and its part in the history of ,israel1 would leave no difficulty for faith4 ,belief in the fore-ordination of all human existence and the constant presence of ,god with men and women in their endurance1 their hope and yearning would be forced upon the most sceptical mind4 ,the insignificance of the occasion marked by a prediction given in the name of ,god may astonish some4 ,but what is insignificant8 ,wherever divine predestination and authority extend1 and that is throughout the whole universe1 nothing can properly be called insignificant4 ,the laws according to which material things and forces are controlled by ,god touch the minutest particles of matter1 determine the shape of a dew-drop as certainly as the form of a world4 ,at every point in human life1 the birth of a child in the poorest cottage as well as of the heir to an empire1 the same principles of heredity1 the same disposition of affairs to leave room for that life and to work out its destiny underlie the economy of the world4 ,a life is to appear4 ,it is not an interposition or interpolation4 ,no event1 no life is ever thrust into an age without relation to the past2 no purpose is formed in the hour of a certain prophecy4 ,for ,samson as for every actor distinguished or obscure upon the stage of the world the stars and the seasons have co-operated and all that has been done under the sun has gone to make a place for him4 ,one who knows this can speak strongly and clearly4 ,one who knows what hinders and what is sure to aid the fulfilment of a great destiny can counsel wisely4 ,and so the angel of ,jehovah1 a messenger of the spiritual covenant1 is no mere vehicle of a prediction he does not understand4 ,without hesitation he speaks to the woman in the field of what her son shall do4 ,by the story of ,god's dealings with ,israel1 by the experiences of tribe and family and individual soul since the primitive age1 by the simple faith of these parents that are to be and the honest energy of their humble lives he is prepared to announce to them their honour and their duty4 ,thou shalt bear a son and he shall begin to deliver ,israel4 ,the messenger has had his preparation of thought1 inquiry deep devout and pondering1 ere he became fit to announce the word of ,god4 ,no seer serves the age to which he is sent with that which costs him nothing1 and here as elsewhere the law of all ministry to ,god and man must apply to the preparation and work of the revealer4 ,the personality of the messenger was carefully concealed4 ,a man of ,god whose countenance was like that of an angel of ,god very terrible--so runs the pathetic1 suggestive description2 but the hour was too intense for mere curiosity4 ,the honest mind does not ask the name and social standing of a messenger but only--,does he speak ,god's truth8 ,does he open life8 ,there are few perhaps1 to-day1 who are simple and intelligent enough for this2 few1 therefore1 to whom divine messages come4 ,it is the credentials we are anxious about1 and the prophet waits unheard while people are demanding his family and tribe1 his college and reputation4 ,are these satisfactory8 ,then they will listen4 ,but let no prophet come to them unnamed4 ,yet of all importance to us as to ,manoah and his wife are the message1 the revelation1 the announcement of privilege and duty4 ,where that divine order is disclosed which lies too deep for our own discovery but once revealed stirs and kindles our nature1 the prophet needs no certification4 ,the child that was to be born1 a gift of ,god1 a divine charge1 was promised to these parents4 ,and in the case of every child born into the world there is a divine predestination which whether it has been recognized by the parents or not gives dignity to his existence from the first4 ,there are natural laws and spiritual laws1 the gathering together of energies and needs and duties which make the life unique1 the care of it sacred4 ,it is a new force in the world--a new vessel1 frail as yet1 launched on the sea of time4 ,in it some stores of the divine goodness1 some treasures of heavenly force are embarked4 ,as it holds its way across the ocean in sunshine or shadow1 this life will be watched by the divine eye1 breathed gently upon by the summer airs or buffeted by the storms of ,god4 ,does heaven mind the children8 ,in heaven their angels do always behold the face of ,my ,father4 ,in the marvellous ordering of divine providence nothing is more calculated than fatherhood and motherhood to lift human life into the high ranges of experience and feeling4 ,apart from any special message or revelation1 assuming only an ordinary measure of thoughtfulness and interest in the unfolding of life1 there is here a new dignity the sense of which connects the task of those who have it with the creative energy of ,god4 ,everywhere throughout the world we can trace a more or less clear understanding of this4 ,the tide of life is felt to rise as the new office1 the new responsibility are grasped4 ,the mother is become-- ,a link among the days to knit ,the generations each to each4 ,the father has a sacred trust1 a new and nobler duty to which his manhood is entirely pledged in the sight of that great ,god who is the ,father of all spirits1 doubly and trebly pledged to truth and purity and courage4 ,it is the coronation of life2 and the child1 drawing father and mother to itself1 is rightly the object of keenest interest and most assiduous care4 ,the interest lies greatly in this1 that to the father and mother first1 then to the world there may be untold possibilities of good in the existence which has begun4 ,apart from any prophecy like that given regarding ,samson we have truly what may be called a special promise from ,god in the dawning energy of every child-life4 ,by the cradle surely1 if anywhere1 hope sacred and heavenly may be indulged4 ,with what earnest glances will the young eyes look by-and-by from face to face4 ,with what new and keen love will the child-heart beat4 ,enlarging its grasp from year to year the mind will lay hold on duty and the will address itself to the tasks of existence4 ,this child will be a heroine of home1 a helper of society1 a soldier of the truth1 a servant of ,god4 ,does the mother dream long dreams as she bends over the cradle8 ,does the father1 one indeed amongst millions1 yet with his special distinction and calling1 imagine for the child a future better than his own8 ,it is well4 ,by the highest laws and instincts of our humanity it is right and good4 ,here men and women1 the rudest and least taught1 live in the immaterial world of love1 faith1 duty4 ,we observe the anxiety of ,manoah and his wife to learn the special method of training which should fit their child for his task4 ,the father's prayer so soon as he heard of the divine annunciation was1 ,o ,lord1 let the man of ,god whom ,thou didst send come again unto us and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born4 ,conscious of ignorance and inexperience1 feeling the weight of responsibility1 the parents desired to have authoritative direction in their duty1 and their anxiety was the deeper because their child was to be a deliverer in ,israel4 ,in their home on the hillside1 where the cottages of ,zorah clustered overlooking the ,philistine plain1 they were frequently disturbed by the raiders who swept up the valley of ,sorek from ,ashdod and ,ekron4 ,they had often wondered when ,god would raise up a deliverer as of old1 some ,deborah or ,gideon to end the galling oppression4 ,now the answer to many a prayer and hope was coming1 and in their own home the hero was to be cradled4 ,we cannot doubt that this made them feel the pressure of duty and the need of wisdom4 ,yet the prayer of ,manoah was one which every father has need to present1 though the circumstances of a child's birth have nothing out of the most ordinary course4 ,to each human mind are given powers which require special fostering1 peculiarities of temperament and feeling which ought to be specially considered4 ,one way will not serve in the upbringing of two children4 ,even the most approved method of the time1 whether that of private tutelage or public instruction1 may thwart individuality2 and if the way be ignorant and rough the original faculty will at its very springing be distorted4 ,it is but the barest commonplace1 yet with what frequency it needs to be urged that of all tasks in the world that of the guide and instructor of youth is hardest to do well1 best worth doing1 therefore most difficult4 ,there is no need to deny that for the earliest years of a child's life the instincts of a loving faithful mother may be trusted to guide her efforts4 ,yet even in those first years tendencies declare themselves that require to be wisely checked or on the other hand wisely encouraged2 and the wisdom does not come by instinct4 ,a spiritual view of life1 its limitations and possibilities1 its high calling and heavenly destiny is absolutely necessary--that vision of the highest things which religion alone can give4 ,the prophet comes and directs2 yet the parents must be prophets too4 ,the child is not to be educated for the present--for this is done without our aid unceasingly and powerfully--but for the remote future and often in opposition to the immediate future4444 ,the child must be armed against the close-pressing present with a counter-balancing weight of three powers against the three weaknesses of the will1 of love and of religion4444 ,the girl and the boy must learn that there is something in the ocean higher than its waves--namely1 a ,christ who calls upon them4#g ,on the religious teaching especially which is given to children much depends1 and those who guide them should often begin by searching and reconsidering their own beliefs4 ,many a promising life is marred because youth in its wonder and sincerity was taught no living faith in ,god1 or was thrust into the mould of some narrow creed which had more in it of human bigotry than of divine reason and love4 #g ,richter1 ,levana4 ,what shall be the ordering of the child8 is ,manoah's prayer1 and it is well if simply expressed4 ,the child's way needs ordering4 ,circumstances must be understood that discipline may fit the young life for its part4 ,in our own time this represents a serious difficulty4 ,what to do with children1 how to order their lives is the pressing question in thousands of homes4 ,the scheme of education in favour shows little insight1 little esteem for the individuality of children1 which is of as much value in the case of the backward as of those who are lured and goaded into distinction4 ,to broaden life1 to give it many points of interest is well4 ,yet on the other hand how much depends on discipline1 on limitation and concentration1 the need of which we are apt to forget4 ,narrow and limited was the life of ,israel when ,samson was born into it4 ,the boy had to be what the nation was1 what ,zorah was1 what ,manoah and his wife were4 ,the limitations of the time held him and the secluded life of ,dan knowing but one article of patriotic faith1 hatred of the ,philistines4 ,was there so much of restriction here as to make greatness impossible8 ,not so4 ,to be an ,israelite was to have a certain moral advantage and superiority4 ,it was not a barren solidarity1 a dry ground in which this new life was planted2 the sprout grew out of a living tree2 traditions1 laws full of spiritual power made an environment for the ,hebrew child4 ,through the limitations1 fenced and guided by them1 a soul might break forth to the upper air4 ,it was not the narrowness of ,israel nor of his own home and upbringing but the licence of ,philistia that weakened the strong arm and darkened the eager soul of the young ,danite4 ,are we now to be afraid of limitations1 bent on giving to youth multiform experience and the freest possible access to the world8 ,do we dream that strength will come as the stream of life is allowed to wander over a whole valley1 turning hither and thither in a shallow and shifty bed8 ,the natural parallel here will instruct us1 for it is an image of the spiritual fact4 ,strength not breadth is the mark at which education should be directed4 ,the intellectually and morally strong will find culture waiting them at every turn of the way and will know how to select1 what to appropriate4 ,in truth there must be first the moral power gained by concentration1 otherwise all culture--art1 science1 literature1 travel--proves but a ,barmecide feast at which the soul starves4 ,the special method of training for the child ,samson is described in the words1 ,he shall be a ,nazirite unto ,god4 ,the mother was to drink no strong drink nor eat any unclean thing4 ,her son was to be trained in the same rigid abstinence2 and always the sense of obligation to ,jehovah was to accompany the austerity4 ,the hair neither cut nor shaven but allowed to grow in natural luxuriance was to be the sign of the separated life4 ,for the hero that was to be1 this ascetic purity1 this sacrament of unshorn hair were the only things prescribed4 ,perhaps there was in the command a reference to the godless life of the ,israelites1 a protest against their self-indulgence and half-heathen freedom4 ,one in the tribe of ,dan would be clear of the sins of drunkenness and gluttony at least1 and so far ready for spiritual work4 ,now it is notable enough to find thus early in history the example of a rule which even yet is not half understood to be the best as well as the safest for the guidance of appetite and the development of bodily strength4 ,the absurdities commonly accepted by mothers and by those who only desire some cover for the indulgence of taste are here set aside4 ,a hero is to be born1 one who in physical vigour will distinguish himself above all1 the ,hercules of sacred history4 ,his mother rigidly abstains1 and he in his turn is to abstain from strong drink4 ,the plainest dieting is to serve both her and him--the kind of food and drink on which ,daniel and his companions throve in the ,chaldean palace4 ,surely the lesson is plain4 ,those who desire to excel in feats of strength speak of their training4 ,it embraces a vow like the ,nazirites1 wanting indeed the sacred purpose and therefore of no use in the development of character4 ,but let a covenant be made with ,god1 let simple food and drink be used under a sense of obligation to ,him to keep the mind clear and the body clean1 and soon with appetites better disciplined we should have a better and stronger race4 ,it is not of course to be supposed that there was nothing out of the common in ,samson's bodily vigour4 ,restraint of unhealthy and injurious appetite was not the only cause to which his strength was due4 ,yet as the accompaniment of his giant energy the vow has great significance4 ,and to young men who incline to glory in their strength1 and all who care to be fit for the tasks of life the significance will be clear4 ,as for the rest whose appetites master them1 who must have this and that because they crave it1 their weakness places them low as men1 nowhere as examples and guides4 ,one would as soon take the type of manly vigour from a paralytic as from one whose will is in subjection to the cravings of the flesh4 ,it soon becomes clear in the course of the history that while some forms of evil were fenced off by ,naziritism others as perilous were not4 ,the main part of the devotion lay in abstinence1 and that is not spiritual life4 ,here is one who from his birth set apart to ,god is trained in manly control of his appetites4 ,the locks that wave in wild luxuriance about his neck are the sign of robust physical vigour as well as of consecration4 ,but1 strangely1 his spiritual education is not cared for as we might expect4 ,he is disciplined and yet undisciplined4 ,he fears the ,lord and yet fears ,him not4 ,he is an ,israelite but not a true ,israelite4 ,jehovah is to him a ,god who gives strength and courage and blessing in return for a certain measure of obedience4 ,as the ,holy ,god1 the true ,god1 the ,god of purity1 ,samson knows ,him not1 does not worship ,him4 ,within a certain limited range he hears a divine voice saying1 ,thou shalt not1 and there he obeys4 ,but beyond is a great region in which he reckons himself free4 ,and what is the result8 ,he is strong1 brave1 sunny in temper as his name implies4 ,but a helper of society1 a servant of divine religion1 a man in the highest sense1 one of ,god's free men ,samson does not become4 ,so is it always4 ,one kind of exercise1 discipline1 obedience1 virtue will not suffice4 ,we need to be temperate and also pure1 we need to keep from self-indulgence but also from niggardliness if we are to be men4 ,we have to think of the discipline of mind and soul as well as soundness of body4 ,he is only half a man1 however free from glaring faults and vices1 who has not learned the unselfishness1 the love1 the ardour in holy and generous tasks which ,christ imparts4 ,to abstain is a negative thing2 the positive should command us--the highest manhood1 holy1 aspiring1 patient1 divine4 ,,xx4 ,,samson ,,plunging ,,into ,,life4 ,,judges xiii4 #bd-xiv4 #bj4 ,of all who move before us in the ,book of ,judges ,samson is pre-eminently the popular hero4 ,in rude giant strength and wild daring he stands alone against the enemies of ,israel contemptuous of their power and their plots4 ,it is just such a man who catches the public eye and lives in the traditions of a country4 ,most ,hebrews of the time minded piety and culture as little as did the ,norsemen when they first professed ,christianity4 ,both races liked manliness and feats of daring and could pardon much to one who flung his enemies and theirs to the ground with god-like strength of arm1 and in the narrative of ,samson's exploits we trace this note of popular estimation4 ,he is a singular hero of faith1 quite akin to those half-converted half-savage chiefs of the north who thought the best they could do for ,god was to kill ,his enemies and bound themselves by fierce oaths in the name of ,christ to hack and slaughter4 ,for the separateness from others1 the isolation which marked ,samson's whole career the reasons are evident4 ,his vow of ,naziritism1 for one thing1 kept him apart4 ,others were their own men1 he was ,jehovah's4 ,his radiant health and uncommon physical energy even in boyhood were to himself and others the sign of a divine blessing which maintained his sense of consecration4 ,while he looked on at the riot and drunkenness of the feasts of his people he felt a growing revulsion1 nor was he pleased with other indications of their temper4 ,the frequent raids of ,philistines from their walled cities by the coast struck terror far and wide--up the valleys of ,dan into the heart of ,judah and ,ephraim4 ,samson as he grew up marked the supineness of his people with wonder and disgust4 ,if he did anything for them it was not because he honoured them but in fulfilment of his destiny4 ,at the same time we must note that the hero though a man of wit was not wise4 ,he did the most injudicious things4 ,he had nothing in him of the diplomatist1 not much of the leader of men4 ,it was only now and again when the mood took him that he cared to exert himself4 ,so he went his own way an admired hero1 a lonely giant among smaller beings4 ,worst of all he was an easy prey to some kinds of temptation4 ,restrained on one side1 he gave himself license on others2 his strength was always undisciplined1 and early in his career we can almost predict how it will end4 ,he ventures into one snare after another4 ,the time is sure to come when he will fall into a pit out of which there is no way of escape4 ,of the early life of the great ,danite judge there is no record save that he grew and the ,lord blessed him4 ,the parents whose home on the hill-side he filled with boisterous glee must have looked on the lad with something like awe--so different was he from others1 so great were the hopes based on his future4 ,doubtless they did their best for him4 ,the consecration of his life to ,god they deeply impressed on his mind and taught him as well as they could the worship of the ,unseen ,jehovah in the sacrifice of lamb or kid at the altar1 in prayers for protection and prosperity4 ,but nothing is said of instruction in the righteousness1 the purity1 the mercifulness which the law of ,god required4 ,manoah and his wife seem to have made the mistake of thinking that outside the vow moral education and discipline would come naturally1 so far as they were needed4 ,there was great strictness on certain points and elsewhere such laxity that he must have soon become wilful and headstrong and somewhat of a terror to the father and mother4 ,lads of his own age would of course adore him2 as their leader in every bold pastime he would command their deference and loyalty1 and many a wild thing was done1 we can fancy1 at which the people of the valley laughed uneasily or shook their heads in dismay4 ,he who afterwards tied the jackals' tails together and set firebrands between each pair to burn the ,philistines' corn must have served an apprenticeship to that kind of savage sport4 ,hebrew or alien for miles round who roused the anger of ,samson would soon learn how dangerous it was to provoke him4 ,yet a dash of generosity always took the edge from fiery temper and rash revenge1 and the people of ,dan1 for their part1 would allow much to one who was expected to bring deliverance to ,israel4 ,the wild and dangerous youth was the only champion they could see4 ,but even before manhood ,samson had times of deeper feeling than people in general would have looked for4 ,boisterous hot-blooded impetuous natures grievously wanting in decorum and sagacity are not always superficial2 and there were occasions when the ,spirit of the ,lord began to move ,samson4 ,he felt the purpose of his vow1 saw the serious work to which his destiny was urging him1 looked down on the plain of the ,philistines with a kindling eye1 spoke in strains that even rose to prophetic intensity4 ,at ,mahaneh-,dan1 the camp of ,dan1 where the more resolute spirits of the tribe came together for military exercise or to repel some raid of the enemy1 ,samson began to speak of his purpose and to make schemes for ,israel's liberation4 ,into these the fiery vehemence of the young man flowed1 and the enthusiasm of his nature bore others along4 ,can we be wrong in supposing that in various ways1 by plans often ill-considered he sought to harass the ,philistines1 and that failure as a leader in these left him somewhat discredited8 ,samson was just of that sanguine venturesome disposition which makes light of difficulties and is always courting defeat4 ,it was easy for him with his immense bodily strength to break through where other men were entrapped4 ,a frequent result of the frays into which he hurried must have been1 we imagine1 to make his own friends doubt him rather than to injure the enemy4 ,at all events he became no commander like ,gideon or ,jephthah1 and the men of ,judah1 if not of ,dan1 while they acknowledged his calling and his power1 began to think of him as a dangerous champion4 ,so far we have the merest hints by which to go1 but the narrative becomes more detailed when it approaches the time of ,samson's marriage4 ,a strange union it is for a hero of ,israel4 ,what made him think of going down among the ,philistines for a wife8 ,how can the sacred writer say that the thing was of the ,lord8 ,let us try to understand the circumstances4 ,between the people of ,zorah and the villagers of ,timnah a few miles down the valley on the other side who1 though ,philistines1 were presumably not of the fighting sort there was a kind of enforced neighbourliness4 ,they could not have lived at all unless they had been content1 ,philistines for their part1 ,hebrews for theirs1 to let the general enmity sleep4 ,samson by observing certain precautions and keeping his ,hebrew tongue quiet was safe enough in ,timnah1 an object of fear rather than himself in danger4 ,at the same time there may have been a touch of bravado in his rambles to the ,philistine settlement1 and the young woman of whom he caught a passing glance1 perhaps at the spring1 had very likely all the more charm for him that she was of the strong hostile race4 ,history as well as fiction supplies instances in which this fascination does its work1 family feuds1 oppositions of caste and religion directing the eye and the fancy instead of repelling4 ,in his sudden wilful way ,samson resolved1 and his mind once made up no one in ,zorah could induce him to alter it4 ,the thing was of the ,lord2 for he sought an occasion against the ,philistines4 ,perhaps ,samson thought the woman would be denied to him1 a straight way to a quarrel4 ,but more probably it is the outcome of the whole pitiful business that is in the mind of the historian4 ,after the event he traces the hand of ,providence4 ,as we pass with ,samson and his parents down to ,timnah we cannot but agree with ,manoah in his objection1 ,is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren or among all my people that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised ,philistines8 ,it was emphatically one of those cases in which liking should not have led4 ,an impetuous man is not to be excused2 much less those who claim to be exceedingly rational and yet go against reason because of what they call love--or1 worse1 apart from love4 ,general rules are with difficulty laid down in matters of this sort1 and to deny the right of love would be the worst error of all4 ,so far as our popular writers are concerned1 we must allow that they wonderfully balance the claims of arrangement and honest affection1 declaring strongly for the latter4 ,but yet such a difference as between faith and idolatry1 between piety and godlessness1 is a barrier that only the blindest folly can overleap when marriage is in view4 ,daughters of the ,philistines may be most divinely fair1 most graceful and plausible2 men who worship ,moloch or ,mammon or nothing but themselves may have most persuasive tongues and a large share of this world's good4 ,but to mate with these1 whatever liking there may be1 is an experiment too rash for venturing4 ,in ,christian society now1 is there not much need to repeat old warnings and revive a sense of peril that seems to have decayed8 ,the conscience of piously bred young people was alive once to the danger and sin of the unequal yoke4 ,in the rush for position and means marriage is being made by both sexes1 even in most religious circles1 an instrument and opportunity of earthly ambition1 and it must be said that foolish romance is less to be feared than this carefulness in which conscience and heart alike submit to the imperious cravings of sheer worldliness4 ,novels have much to answer for2 yet they can make one claim--they have done something for simple humanity4 ,we want more than nature1 however4 ,christian teaching must be heard and the ,christian conscience must be re-kindled4 ,the hope of the world waits on that devout simplicity of life which exalts spiritual aims and spiritual comradeship and by its beauty shames all meaner choice4 ,in marriage not only should heart go out to heart1 but mind to mind and soul to soul2 and the spirit of one who knows ,christ can never unite with a self-worshipper or a servant of mammon4 ,returning to ,samson's case1 he would possibly have said that he wished an adventurous marriage1 that to wed a ,danite woman would have in it too little risk1 would be too dull1 too commonplace a business for him1 that he wanted a plunge into new waters4 ,it is in this way1 one must believe1 many decide the great affair4 ,so far from thinking they put thought away2 a liking seizes them and in they leap4 ,yet in the best considered marriage that can be made is there not quite enough of adventure for any sane man or woman8 ,always there remain points of character unknown1 unsuspected1 possibilities of sickness1 trouble1 privation that fill the future with uncertainty1 so far as human vision goes4 ,it is1 in truth1 a serious undertaking for men and women1 and to be entered upon only with the distinct assurance that divine providence clears the way and invites our advance4 ,yet again we are not to be suspicious of each other1 probing every trait and habit to the quick4 ,marriage is the great example and expression of the trust which it is the glory of men and women to exercise and to deserve1 the great symbol on earth of the confidences and unions of immortality4 ,matter of deep thankfulness it is that so many who begin the married life and end it on a low level1 having scarcely a glimpse of the ideal1 though they fail of much do not fail of all1 but in some patience1 some courage and fidelity show that ,god has not left them to nature and to earth4 ,and happy are they who adventure together on no way of worldly policy or desire but in the pure love and heavenly faith which link their lives for ever in binding them to ,god4 ,samson1 reasoned with by his parents1 waved their objection royally aside and ordered them to aid his design4 ,it was necessary according to the custom of the country that they should conduct the negotiations for the marriage1 and his wilfulness imposed on them a task that went against their consciences4 ,so they found themselves with the common reward of worshipping parents4 ,they had toiled for him1 made much of him1 boasted about him no doubt2 and now their boy-god turns round and commands them in a thing they cannot believe to be right4 ,they must choose between ,jehovah and ,samson and they have to give up ,jehovah and serve their own lad4 ,so ,david's pride in ,absalom ended with the rebellion that drove the aged father from ,jerusalem and exposed him to the contempt of ,israel4 ,it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth1 the yoke even of parents who are not so wise as they might be and do not command much reverence4 ,the order of family life among us1 involving no absolute bondage1 is recognized as a wholesome discipline by all who attain to any understanding of life4 ,in ,israel1 as we know1 filial respect and obedience were virtues sacredly commended1 and it is one mark of ,samson's ill-regulated self-esteeming disposition that he neglected the obvious duty of deference to the judgment of his parents4 ,on the way to ,timnah the young man had an adventure which was to play an important part in his life4 ,turning aside out of the road he found himself suddenly confronted by a lion which1 doubtless as much surprised as he was by the encounter1 roared against him4 ,the moment was not without its peril2 but ,samson was equal to the emergency and springing on the beast rent it as he would have rent a kid4 ,the affair however did not seem worth referring to when he joined his parents1 and they went on their way4 ,it was as when a man of strong moral principle and force meets a temptation dangerous to the weak1 to him an enemy easily overcome4 ,his vigorous truth or honour or chastity makes short work of it4 ,he lays hold of it and in a moment it is torn in pieces4 ,the great talk made about temptations1 the ready excuses many find for themselves when they yield are signs of a feebleness of will which in other ranges of life the same persons would be ashamed to own4 ,it is to be feared that we often encourage moral weakness and unfaithfulness to duty by exaggerating the force of evil influences4 ,why should it be reckoned a feat to be honest1 to be generous1 to swear to one's own hurt8 ,under the dispensation of the ,spirit of ,god1 with ,christ as our guide and stay every one of us should act boldly in the encounter with the lions of temptation4 ,tenderness to the weak is a ,christian duty1 but there is danger that young and old alike1 hearing much of the seductions of sin1 little of the ready help of the ,almighty1 submit easily where they should conquer and reckon on divine forbearance when they ought to expect reproach and contempt4 ,our generation needs to hear the words of ,st4 ,paul3 ,there hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear3 but ,god is faithful ,who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able4 ,is there a tremendous pressure constantly urging us towards that which is evil8 ,in our large cities especially is the power of iniquity almost despotic8 ,true enough4 ,yet men and women should be braced and strengthened by insistence on the other side4 ,in ,christian lands at least it is unquestionable that for every enticement to evil there is a stronger allurement to good1 that against every argument for immorality ten are set more potent in behalf of virtue1 that where sin abounds grace does much more abound4 ,young persons are indeed tempted2 but nothing will be gained by speaking to them or about them as if they were children incapable of decision1 of whom it can only be expected that they will fail4 ,by the ,spirit of ,god1 indeed1 all moral victories are gained2 the natural virtue of the best is uncertain and cannot be trusted in the trying hour1 and he only who has a full inward life and earnest ,christian purpose is ready for the test4 ,but the ,spirit of ,god is given4 ,his sustaining1 purifying1 strengthening power is with us4 ,we do not breathe deep1 and then we complain that our hearts cease to beat with holy courage and resolve4 ,at ,timnah1 where life was perhaps freer than in a ,hebrew town1 ,samson appears to have seen the woman who had caught his fancy2 and he now found her1 ,philistine as she was1 quite to his mind4 ,it must have been by a low standard he judged1 and many possible topics of conversation must have been carefully avoided4 ,under the circumstances1 indeed1 the difficulty of understanding each other's language may have been their safety4 ,certainly one who professed to be a fearer of ,god1 a patriotic ,israelite had to shut his eyes to many facts or thrust them from sight when he determined to wed this daughter of the enemy4 ,but when we choose we can do much in the way of keeping things out of view which we do not wish to see4 ,persons who are at daggers drawn on fifty points show the greatest possible affability when it is their interest to be at one4 ,love gets over difficulties and so does policy4 ,occasions are found when the anxiously orthodox can join in some comfortable compact with the agnostic1 and the vehement state-churchman with the avowed secularist and revolutionary4 ,and it seems to be only when two are nearly of the same creed1 with just some hairsbreadth of divergence on a few articles of belief1 that the obstacles to happy union are apt to become insurmountable4 ,then every word is watched1 each tone noted with suspicion4 ,it is not between ,hebrew and ,philistine but between ,ephraim and ,judah that alliances are difficult to form4 ,we hope for the time when the long and bitter disputes of ,christendom shall be overcome by love of truth and ,god4 ,yet first there must be an end to the strange reconcilings and unions which like ,samson's marriage often confuse and obstruct the way of ,christian people4 ,there is an interval of some months after the marriage has been arranged and the bridegroom is on his way once more down the valley to ,timnah4 ,as he passes the scene of his encounter with the lion he turns aside to see the carcase and finds that bees have made it their home4 ,vultures and ants have first found it and devoured the flesh1 then the sun has thoroughly dried the skin and in the hollow of the ribs the bees have settled4 ,at considerable risk ,samson possesses himself of some of the combs and goes on eating the honey1 giving a portion also to his father and mother4 ,it is again a type1 and this time of the sweetness to be found in the recollection of virtuous energy and overcoming4 ,not that we are to be always dwelling on our faithfulness even for the purpose of thanking ,god ,who gave us moral strength4 ,but when circumstances recall a trial and victory it is surely matter of proper joy to remember that here we were strong enough to be true1 and there to be honest and pure when the odds seemed to be against us4 ,the memories of a good man or good woman are sweeter than the honeycomb1 though tempered often by sorrow over the human instruments of evil who had to be struggled with and thrust aside in the sharp conflict with sin and wrong4 ,very few in youth or middle-life seem to think of this joy1 which makes beautiful many a worn and aged face on earth and will not be the least element in the felicity of heaven4 ,too often we bear burdens because we must2 we are dragged through trial and distress to comparative quiet2 we do not comprehend what is at stake1 what we may do and gain1 what we are kept from losing2 and so the look across our past has none of the glow of triumph1 little of the joy of harvest4 ,for man's blessedness is not to be separated from personal striving4 ,in fidelity he must sow that he may reap in strength1 in courage that he may reap in gladness4 ,he is made not for mere success1 not for mere safety1 but for overcoming4 ,we are not finished with the lion2 he next appears covertly1 in a riddle4 ,samson has shown himself a strong man2 now we hear him speak and he proves a wit4 ,it is the wedding festival1 and thirty young men have been gathered--to honour the bridegroom1 shall we say8--or to watch him8 ,perhaps from the first there has been suspicion in the ,philistine mind1 and it seems necessary to have as many as thirty to one in order to overawe ,samson4 ,in the course of the feast there might be quarrels1 and without a strong guard on the ,hebrew youth ,timnah might be in danger4 ,as the days went by the company fell to proposing riddles and ,samson1 probably annoyed by the ,philistines who watched every movement1 gave them his1 on terms quite fair1 yet leaving more than a loophole for discontent and strife4 ,in the conditions we see the man perfectly self-reliant1 full of easy superiority1 courting danger and defying envy4 ,the thirty may win--if they can4 ,in that case he knows how he will pay the forfeit4 ,put forth thy riddle1 they said1 that we may hear it2 and the strong mellow ,hebrew voice chanted the puzzling verse3 ,out of the eater came forth meat2 ,out of the strong came forth sweetness4 ,now in itself this is simply a curiosity of old-world table-talk4 ,it is preserved here mainly because of its bearing on following events2 and certainly the statement which has been made that it contained a gospel for the ,philistines is one we cannot endorse4 ,yet like many witty sayings the riddle has a range of meaning far wider than ,samson intended4 ,adverse influences conquered1 temptation mastered1 difficulties overcome1 the struggle of faithfulness will supply us not only with happy recollections but also with arguments against infidelity1 with questions that confound the unbeliever4 ,one who can glory in tribulations that have brought experience and hope1 in bonds and imprisonments that have issued in a keener sense of liberty1 who having nothing yet possesses all things--such a man questioning the denier of divine providence cannot be answered4 ,invigoration has come out of that which threatened life and joy out of that which made for sorrow4 ,the man who is in covenant with ,god is helped by nature2 its forces serve him2 he is fed with honey from the rock and with the finest of the wheat4 ,when out of the mire of trouble and the deep waters of despondency he comes forth braver1 more hopeful1 strongly confident in the love of ,god1 sure of the eternal foundation of life1 what can be said in denial of the power that has filled him with strength and peace8 ,here is an argument that can be used by every ,christian1 and ought to be in every ,christian's hand4 ,out of his personal experience each should be able to state problems and put inquiries unanswerable by unbelief4 ,for unless there is a living ,god ,whose favour is life1 ,whose fellowship inspires and ennobles the soul1 the strength which has come through weakness1 the hope that sprang up in the depth of sorrow cannot be accounted for4 ,there are natural sequences in which no mystery lies4 ,when one who has been defamed and injured turns on his enemy and pursues him in revenge1 when one who has been defeated sinks back in languor and waits in pitiful inaction for death1 these are results easily traced to their cause4 ,but the man of faith bears witness to sequences of a different kind4 ,his fellows have persecuted him1 and he cares for them still4 ,death has bereaved him1 and he can smile in its face4 ,afflictions have been multiplied and he glories in them4 ,the darkness has fallen and he rejoices more than in the noontide of prosperity4 ,out of the eater has come forth meat1 out of the strong has come forth sweetness4 ,except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die1 it abideth alone2 but if it die1 it bringeth forth much fruit4 ,the paradox of the life of ,christ thus stated by ,himself is the supreme instance of that demonstration of divine power which the history of every ,christian should clearly and constantly support4 ,,xxi4 ,,dauntless ,,in ,,battle1 ,,ignorantly ,,brave4 ,,judges xv4 ,given a man of strong passions and uninstructed conscience1 wild courage and giant energy1 with the sense of a mission which he has to accomplish against his country's enemies so that he reckons himself justified in doing them injury or killing them in the name of ,god1 and you have1 no complete hero1 but a real and interesting man4 ,such a character1 however1 does not command our admiration4 ,the enthusiasm we feel in tracing the career of ,deborah or ,gideon fails us in reviewing these stories of revenge in which the ,hebrew champion appears as cruel and reckless as an uncircumcised ,philistine4 ,when we see ,samson leaving the feast by which his marriage has been celebrated and marching down to ,ashkelon where in cold blood he puts thirty men to death for the sake of their clothing1 when we see a country-side ablaze with the standing corn which he has kindled1 we are as indignant with him as with the ,philistines when they burn his wife and her father with fire4 ,nor can we find anything like excuse for ,samson on the ground of zeal in the service of pure religion4 ,had he been a fanatical ,hebrew mad against idolatry his conduct might find some apology2 but no such clue offers4 ,the ,danite is moved chiefly by selfish and vain passions1 and his sense of official duty is all too weak and vague4 ,we see little patriotism and not a trace of religious fervour4 ,he is serving a great purpose with some sincerity1 but not wisely1 not generously nor greatly4 ,samson is a creature of impulse working out his life in blind almost animal fashion1 perceiving the next thing that is to be done not in the light of religion or duty1 but of opportunity and revenge4 ,the first of his acts against the ,philistines was no promising start in a heroic career1 and almost at every point in the story of his life there is something that takes away our respect and sympathy4 ,but the life is full of moral suggestion and warning4 ,he is a real and striking example of the wild ,berserker type4 #a4 ,for one thing this stands out as a clear principle that a man has his life to live1 his work to do1 alone if others will not help1 imperfectly if not in the best fashion1 half-wrongly if the right cannot be clearly seen4 ,this world is not for sleep1 is not for inaction and sloth4 ,whatsoever thy hand finds to do1 do it with thy might4 ,a thousand men in ,dan1 ten thousand in ,judah did nothing that became men1 sat at home while their grapes and olives grew1 abjectly sowed and reaped their fields in dread of the ,philistines1 making no attempt to free their country from the hated yoke4 ,samson1 not knowing rightly how to act1 did go to work and1 at any rate1 lived4 ,among the dull spiritless ,israelites of the day1 three thousand of whom actually came on one occasion to beseech him to give himself up and bound him with ropes that he might be safely passed over to the enemy1 ,samson with all his faults looks like a man4 ,those men of ,dan and ,judah would slay the ,philistines if they dared4 ,it is not because they are better than ,samson that they do not go down to ,ashkelon and kill4 ,their consciences do not keep them back2 it is their cowardice4 ,one who with some vision of a duty owing to his people goes forth and acts1 contrasts well with these chicken-hearted thousands4 ,we are not at present stating the complete motive of human activity nor setting forth the ideal of life4 ,to that we shall come afterwards4 ,but before you can have ideal action you must have action4 ,before you can have life of a fine and noble type you must have life4 ,here is an absolute primal necessity2 and it is the key to both evolutions1 the natural and the spiritual4 ,first the human creature must find its power and capability and must use these to some end1 be it even a wrong end1 rather than none2 after this the ideal is caught and proper moral activity becomes possible4 ,we need not look for the full corn in the ear till the seed has sprouted and grown and sent its roots well into the soil4 ,with this light the roll of ,hebrew fame is cleared and we can trace freely the growth of life4 ,the heroes are not perfect2 they have perhaps barely caught the light of the ideal2 but they have strength to will and to do1 they have faith that this power is a divine gift1 and they having it are ,god's pioneers4 ,the need is that men should in the first instance live so that they may be faithful to their calling4 ,deborah looking round beheld her country under the sore oppression of ,jabin1 saw the need and answered to it4 ,others only vegetated2 she rose up in human stature resolute to live4 ,that also was what ,gideon began to do when at the divine call he demolished the altar on the height of ,ophrah2 and ,jephthah fought and endured by the same law4 ,so soon as men begin to live there is hope of them4 ,now the hindrances to life are these--first1 slothfulness1 the disposition to drift1 to let things go2 second1 fear1 the restriction imposed on effort of body or of mind by some opposing force ingloriously submitted to2 third1 ignoble dependence on others4 ,the proper life of man is never reached by many because they are too indolent to win it4 ,to forecast and devise1 to try experiments1 pushing out in this direction and that is too much for them4 ,some opportunity for doing more and better lies but a mile away or a few yards2 they see but will not venture upon it4 ,their country is sinking under a despot or a weak and foolish government2 they do nothing to avert ruin1 things will last their time4 ,or again1 their church is stirred with throbs of a new duty1 a new and keen anxiety2 but they refuse to feel any thrill1 or feeling it a moment they repress the disturbing influence4 ,they will not be troubled with moral and spiritual questions1 calls to action that make life severe1 high1 heroic4 ,often this is due to want of physical or mental vigour4 ,men and women are overborne by the labour required of them1 the weary tale of bricks4 ,even from youth they have had burdens to bear so heavy that hope is never kindled4 ,but there are many who have no such excuse4 ,let us alone1 they say1 we have no appetite for exertion1 for strife1 for the duties that set life in a fever4 ,the old ways suit us1 we will go on as our fathers have gone4 ,the tide of opportunity ebbs away and they are left stranded4 ,next1 and akin1 there is fear1 the mood of those who hear the calls of life but hear more clearly the threatenings of sense and time4 ,often it comes in the form of a dread of change1 apprehension as regards the unknown seas on which effort or thought would launch forth4 ,let us be still1 say the prudent2 better to bear the ills we have than fly to others that we know not of4 ,are we ground down by the ,philistines8 ,better suffer than be killed4 ,are our laws unjust and oppressive8 ,better rest content than risk revolution and the upturning of everything4 ,are we not altogether sure of the basis of our belief8 ,better leave it unexamined than begin with inquiries the end of which cannot be foreseen4 ,besides1 they argue1 ,god means us to be content4 ,our lot in the world however hard is of ,his giving2 the faith we hold is of his bestowing4 ,shall we not provoke ,him to anger if we move in revolution or in inquiry8 ,still it is life they lose4 ,a man who does not think about the truths he rests on has an impotent mind4 ,one who does not feel it laid on him to go forward1 to be brave1 to make the world better has an impotent soul4 ,life is a constant reaching after the unattained for ourselves and for the world4 ,and lastly there is ignoble dependence on others4 ,so many will not exert themselves because they wait for some one to come and lift them up4 ,they do not think1 nor do they understand that instruction brought to them is not life4 ,no doubt it is the plan of ,god to help the many by the instrumentality of the few1 a whole nation or world by one4 ,again and again we have seen this illustrated in ,hebrew history1 and elsewhere the fact constantly meets us4 ,there is one ,luther for ,europe1 one ,cromwell for ,england1 one ,knox for ,scotland1 one ,paul for early ,christianity4 ,but at the same time it is because life is wanting1 because men have the deadly habit of dependence that the hero must be brave for them and the reformer must break their bonds4 ,the true law of life on all levels1 from that of bodily effort upwards1 is self-help2 without it there is only an infancy of being4 ,he who is in a pit must exert himself if he is to be delivered4 ,he who is in spiritual darkness must come to the light if he is to be saved4 ,now we see in ,samson a man who in his degree lived4 ,he had strength like the strength of ten2 he had also the consecration of his vow and the sense of a divine constraint and mandate4 ,these things urged him to life and made activity necessary to him4 ,he might have reclined in careless ease like many around4 ,but sloth did not hold him nor fear4 ,he wanted no man's countenance nor help4 ,he lived4 ,his mere exertion of power was the sign of higher possibilities4 ,live at all hazards1 imperfectly if perfection is not attainable1 half-wrongly if the right cannot be seen4 ,is this perilous advice8 ,from one point of view it may seem very dangerous4 ,for many are energetic in so imperfect a way1 in so blundering and false a way that it might appear better for them to remain quiet1 practically dead than degrade and darken the life of the race by their mistaken or immoral vehemence4 ,you read of those traders among the islands of the ,pacific who1 afraid that their nefarious traffic should suffer if missionary work succeeded1 urged the natives to kill the missionaries or drive them away1 and when they had gained their end quickly appeared on the scene to exchange for the pillaged stores of the mission-house muskets and gunpowder and villainous strong drink4 ,may it not be said that these traders were living out their lives as much as the devoted teachers who had risked everything for the sake of doing good8 ,napoleon ,i41 when the scheme of empire presented itself to him and all his energies were bent on climbing to the summit of affairs in ,france and in ,europe--was not he living according to a conception of what was greatest and best8 ,would it not have been better if those traders and the ambitious ,corsican alike had been content to vegetate--inert and harmless through their days8 ,and there are multitudes of examples4 ,the poet ,byron for one--could the world not well spare even his finest verse to be rid of his unlawful energy in personal vice and in coarse profane word8 ,one has to confess the difficulty of the problem1 the danger of praising mere vigour4 ,yet if there is risk on the one side the risk on the other is greater3 and truth demands risk1 defies peril4 ,it is unquestionable that any family of men when it ceases to be enterprising and energetic is of no more use in the economy of things4 ,its land is a necropolis4 ,the dead cannot praise ,god4 ,the choice is between activity that takes many a wrong direction1 hurrying men often towards perdition1 yet at every point capable of redemption1 and on the other hand inglorious death1 that existence which has no prospect but to be swallowed up of the darkness4 ,and while such is the common choice there is also this to be noted that inertness is not certainly purer than activity though it may appear so merely by contrast4 ,the active life compels us to judge of it2 the other a mere negation calls for no judgment1 yet is in itself a moral want1 an evil and injury4 ,conscience being unexercised decay and death rule all4 ,men cannot be saved by their own effort and vigour4 ,most true4 ,but if they make no attempt to advance towards strength1 dominion and fulness of existence1 they are the prey of force and evil4 ,nor will it suffice that they simply exert themselves to keep body and soul together4 ,the life is more than meat4 ,we must toil not only that we may continue to subsist1 but for personal distinctness and freedom4 ,where there are strong men1 resolute minds1 earnestness of some kind1 there is soil in which spiritual seed may strike root4 ,the dead tree can produce neither leaf nor flower4 ,in short1 if there is to be a human race at all for the divine glory it can only be in the divine way1 by the laws that govern existence of every degree4 #b4 ,we come1 however1 to the compensating principle of responsibility--the law of ,duty which stands over energy in the range of our life4 ,no man1 no race is justified by force or as we sometimes say by doing4 ,it is faith that saves4 ,samson has the rude material of life2 but though his action were far purer and nobler it could not make him a spiritual man3 his heart is not purged of sin nor set on ,god4 ,granted that the time was rough1 chaotic1 cloudy1 that the idea of injuring the ,philistines in every possible way was imposed on the ,danite by his nation's abject state1 that he had to take what means lay in his power for accomplishing the end4 ,but possessed of energy he was deficient in conscience1 and so failed of noble life4 ,this may be said for him that he did not turn against the men of ,judah who came to bind him and give him up4 ,within a certain range he understood his responsibility4 ,but surely a higher life than he lived1 better plans than he followed were possible to one who could have learned the will of ,god at ,shiloh1 who was bound to ,god by a vow of purity and had that constant reminder of the ,holy ,lord of ,israel4 ,it is no uncommon thing for men to content themselves with one sacrament1 one observance which is reckoned enough for salvation--honesty in business1 abstinence from strong drink1 attendance on church ordinances4 ,this they do and keep the rest of existence for unrestrained self-pleasing1 as though salvation lay in a restraint or a form4 ,but whoever can think is bound to criticise life1 to try his own life1 to seek the way of salvation1 and that means being true to the best he knows and can know1 it means believing in the will of ,god4 ,something higher than his own impulse is to guide him4 ,he is free1 yet responsible4 ,his activity1 however great1 has no real power1 no vindication unless it falls in with the course of divine law and purpose4 ,he lives by faith4 ,generally there is one clear principle which1 if a man held to it1 would keep him right in the main4 ,it may not be of a very high order1 yet it will prepare the way for something better and meanwhile serve his need4 ,and for ,samson one simple law of duty was to keep clear of all private relations and entanglements with the ,philistines4 ,there was nothing to hinder him from seeing that to be safe and right as a rule of life4 ,they were ,israel's enemies and his own4 ,he should have been free to act against them3 and when he married a daughter of the race he forfeited as an honourable man the freedom he ought to have had as a son of ,israel4 ,doubtless he did not understand fully the evil of idolatry nor the divine law that ,hebrews were to keep themselves separate from the worshippers of false gods4 ,yet the instincts of the race to which he belonged1 fidelity to his forefathers and compatriots made their claim upon him4 ,there was a duty too which he owed to himself4 ,as a brave strong man he was discredited by the line of action which he followed4 ,his honour lay in being an open enemy to the ,philistines1 his dishonour in making underhand excuses for attacking them4 ,it was base to seek occasion against them when he married the woman at ,timnah1 and from one act of baseness he went on to others because of that first error4 ,and chiefly ,samson failed in his fidelity to ,god4 ,scarcely ever was the name of ,jehovah dragged through the mire as it was by him4 ,the ,god of truth1 the divine guardian of faithfulness1 the ,god who is light1 in ,whom is no darkness at all1 was made by ,samson's deeds to appear as the patron of murder and treachery4 ,we can hardly allow that an ,israelite was so ignorant of the ordinary laws of morality as to suppose that faith need not be kept with idolaters2 there were traditions of his people which prevented such a notion4 ,one who knew of ,abraham's dealings with the ,hittite ,ephron and his rebuke in ,egypt could not imagine that the ,hebrew lay under no debt of human equity and honour to the ,philistine4 ,are there men among ourselves who think no faithfulness is due by the civilised to the savage8 ,are there professed servants of ,christ who dare to suggest that no faith need be kept with heretics8 ,they reveal their own dishonour as men1 their own falseness and meanness4 ,the primal duty of intelligent and moral beings cannot be so dismissed4 ,and even ,samson should have been openly the ,philistines' enemy or not at all4 ,if they were cruel1 rapacious1 mean1 he ought to have shown that ,jehovah's servant was of a different stamp4 ,we cannot believe morality to have been at so low an ebb among the ,hebrews that the popular leader did not know better than he acted4 ,he became a judge in ,israel1 and his judgeship would have been a pretence unless he had some of the justice1 truth and honour which ,god demanded of men4 ,beginning in a very mistaken way he must have risen to a higher conception of duty1 otherwise his rule would have been a disaster to the tribes he governed4 ,conscience has originated in fear and is to decay with ignorance1 say some4 ,already that extraordinary piece of folly has been answered4 ,conscience is the correlative of power1 the guide of energy4 ,if the one decays1 so must the other4 ,living strongly1 energetically1 making experiments1 seeking liberty and dominion1 pressing towards the higher we are ever to acknowledge the responsibility which governs life4 ,by what we know of the divine will we are to order every purpose and scheme and advance to further knowledge4 ,there are victories we might win1 there are methods by which we might harass those who do us wrong4 ,one voice says ,snatch the victories1 go down by night and injure the foe1 insinuate what you cannot prove1 while the sentinels sleep plunge your spear through the heart of a persecuting ,saul4 ,but another voice asks1 ,is this the way to assert moral life8 ,is this the line for a man to take8 ,the true man swears to his own hurt1 suffers and is strong1 does in the face of day what he has it in him to do and1 if he fails1 dies a true man still4 ,he is not responsible for obeying commands of which he is ignorant1 nor for mistakes which he cannot avoid4 ,one like ,samson is clean-handed in what it would be unutterably base for us to do4 ,but close beside every man are such guiding ideas as straightforwardness1 sincerity1 honesty4 ,each of us knows his duty so far and cannot deceive himself by supposing that ,god will excuse him in acting1 even for what he counts a good end1 as a cheat and a hypocrite4 ,in politics the rule is as clear as in companionship1 in war as in love4 ,it has not been asserted that ,samson was without a sense of responsibility4 ,he had it1 and kept his vow4 ,he had it1 and fought against the ,philistines4 ,he did some brave things openly and like a man4 ,he had a vision of ,israel's need and ,god's will4 ,had this not been true he could have done no good2 the whole strength of the hero would have been wasted4 ,but he came short of effecting what he might have effected just because he was not wise and serious4 ,his strokes missed their aim4 ,in truth ,samson never went earnestly about the task of delivering ,israel4 ,in his fulness of power he was always half in sport1 making random shots1 indulging his own humour4 ,and we may find in his career no inapt illustration of the careless way in which the conflict with the evils of our time is carried on4 ,with all the rage for societies and organizations there is much haphazard activity1 and the fanatic for rule has his contrast in the free-lance who hates the thought of responsibility4 ,a curious charitableness too confuses the air4 ,there are men who are full of ardour to-day and strike in with some hot scheme against social wrongs1 and the next day are to be seen sitting at a feast with the very persons most to blame under some pretext of finding occasion against them or showing that there is nothing personal4 ,this perplexes the whole campaign4 ,it is usually mere bravado rather than charity1 a mischief not a virtue4 ,israel must be firm and coherent if it is to win liberty from the ,philistines4 ,christians must stand by each other steadily if they are to overcome infidelity and rescue the slaves of sin4 ,the feats of a man who holds aloof from the church because he is not willing to be bound by its rules count for little in the great warfare of the age4 ,many there are among our literary men1 politicians and even philanthropists who strike in now and again in a ,christian way and with unquestionably ,christian purpose against the bad institutions and social evils of our time1 but have no proper basis or aim of action and maintain towards ,christian organizations and churches a constant attitude of criticism4 ,samson-like they make showy random attacks on bigotry1 inconsistency and the like4 ,it is not they who will deliver man from hardness and worldliness of soul2 not they who will bring in the reign of love and truth4 #c4 ,looking at ,samson's efforts during the first part of his career and observing the want of seriousness and wisdom that marred them1 we may say that all he did was to make clear and deep the cleft between ,philistines and ,hebrews4 ,when he appears on the scene there are signs of a dangerous intermixture of the two races1 and his own marriage is one4 ,the ,hebrews were apparently inclined to settle down in partial subjection to the ,philistines and make the best they could of the situation1 hoping perhaps that by-and-by they might reach a state of comfortable alliance and equality4 ,samson may have intended to end that movement or he may not4 ,but he certainly did much to end it4 ,after the first series of his exploits1 crowned by the slaughter at ,lehi1 there was an open rupture with the ,philistines which had the best effect on ,hebrew morals and religion4 ,it was clear that one ,israelite had to be reckoned with whose strong arm dealt deadly blows4 ,the ,philistines drew away in defeat4 ,the ,hebrews learned that they needed not to remain in any respect dependent or afraid4 ,this kind of division grows into hatred2 but1 as things were1 dislike was ,israel's safety4 ,the ,philistines did harm as masters2 as friends they would have done even more4 ,enmity meant revulsion from ,dagon-worship and all the social customs of the opposed race4 ,for this the ,hebrews were indebted to ,samson2 and although he was not himself true all along to the principle of separation1 yet in his final act he emphasized it so by destroying the temple of ,gaza that the lesson was driven home beyond the possibility of being forgotten4 ,it is no slight service those do who as critics of parties and churches show them clearly where they stand1 who are to be reckoned as enemies1 what alliances are perilous4 ,there are many who are exceedingly easy in their beliefs1 too ready to yield to the ,zeit ,geist that would obliterate definite belief and with it the vigour and hope of mankind4 ,alliance with ,philistines is thought of as a good1 not a risk1 and the whole of a party or church may be so comfortably settling in the new breadth and freedom of this association that the certain end of it is not seen4 ,then is the time for the resolute stroke that divides party from party1 creed from creed4 ,a reconciler is the best helper of religion at one juncture2 at another it is the ,samson who standing alone perhaps1 frowned on equally by the leaders and the multitude1 makes occasion to kindle controversy and set sharp variance between this side and that4 ,luther struck in so4 ,his great act was one that rent ,christendom in twain4 ,upon the ,israel which looked on afraid or suspicious he forced the division which had been for centuries latent4 ,does not our age need a new divider8 ,you set forth to testify against ,philistines and soon find that half your acquaintances are on terms of the most cordial friendship with them1 and that attacks upon them which have any point are reckoned too hot and eager to be tolerated in society4 ,to the few who are resolute duty is made difficult and protest painful3 the reformer has to bear the sins and even the scorn of many who should appear with him4 ,,xxii4 ,,pleasure ,,and ,,peril ,,in ,,gaza4 ,,judges xvi4 #a-c4 ,by courage and energy ,samson so distinguished himself in his own tribe and on the ,philistine border that he was recognized as judge4 ,government of any kind was a boon1 and he kept rude order1 as much perhaps by overawing the restless enemy as by administering justice in ,israel4 ,whether the period of twenty years assigned to ,samson's judgeship intervened between the fight at ,lehi and the visit to ,gaza we cannot tell4 ,the chronology is vague1 as might be expected in a narrative based on popular tradition4 ,most likely the twenty years cover the whole time during which ,samson was before the public as hero and acknowledged chief4 ,samson went down to ,gaza1 which was the principal ,philistine city situated near the ,mediterranean coast some forty miles from ,zorah4 ,for what reason did he venture into that hostile place8 ,it may1 of course1 have been that he desired to learn by personal inspection what was its strength1 to consider whether it might be attacked with any hope of success2 and if that was so we would be disposed to justify him4 ,as the champion and judge of ,israel he could not but feel the danger to which his people were constantly exposed from the ,philistine power so near to them and in those days always becoming more formidable4 ,he had to a certain extent secured deliverance for his country as he was expected to do2 but deliverance was far from complete1 could not be complete till the strength of the enemy was broken4 ,at great risk to himself he may have gone to play the spy and devise1 if possible1 some plan of attack4 ,in this case he would be an example of those who with the best and purest motives1 seeking to carry the war of truth and purity into the enemy's country1 go down into the haunts of vice to see what men do and how best the evils that injure society may be overcome4 ,there is risk in such adventure2 but it is nobly undertaken1 and even if we do not feel disposed to imitate we must admire4 ,bold servants of ,christ may feel constrained to visit ,gaza and learn for themselves what is done there4 ,beyond this too is a kind of adventure which the whole church justifies in proportion to its own faith and zeal4 ,we see ,st4 ,paul and his companions in ,ephesus1 in ,philippi1 in ,athens and other heathen towns1 braving the perils which threaten them there1 often attacked1 sometimes in the jaws of death1 heroic in the highest sense4 ,and we see the modern missionary with like heroism landing on savage coasts and at the constant risk of life teaching the will of ,god in a sublime confidence that it shall awaken the most sunken nature2 a confidence never at fault4 ,but we are obliged to doubt whether ,samson had in view any scheme against the ,philistine power2 and we may be sure that he was on no mission for the good of ,gaza4 ,of a patriotic or generous purpose there is no trace2 the motive is unquestionably of a different kind4 ,from his youth this man was restless1 adventurous1 ever craving some new excitement good or bad4 ,he could do anything but quietly pursue a path of duty2 and in the small towns of ,dan and the valleys of ,judah he had little to excite and interest him4 ,there life went on in a dull way from year to year1 without gaiety1 bustle1 enterprise4 ,had the chief been deeply interested in religion1 had he been a reformer of the right kind he would have found opportunity enough for exertion and a task into which he might have thrown all his force4 ,there were heathen images to break in pieces1 altars and high-places to demolish4 ,to banish ,baal-worship and the rites of ,ashtoreth from the land1 to bring the customs of the people under the law of ,jehovah would have occupied him fully4 ,but ,samson did not incline to any such doings2 he had no passion for reform4 ,we never see in his life one such moment as ,gideon and ,jephthah knew of high religious daring4 ,dark hours he had1 sombre enough1 as at ,lehi after the slaughter4 ,but his was the melancholy of a life without aim sufficient to its strength1 without a vision matching its energy4 ,to suffer for ,god's cause is the rarest of joys and that ,samson never knew though he was judge in ,israel4 ,we imagine then that in default of any excitement such as he craved in the towns of his own land he turned his eyes to the ,philistine cities which presented a marked contrast4 ,there life was energetic and gay1 there many pleasures were to be had4 ,new colonists were coming in their swift ships and the streets presented a scene of constant animation4 ,the strong eager man1 full of animal passion1 found the life he craved in ,gaza where he mingled with the crowds and heard tales of strange existence4 ,nor was there wanting the opportunity for enjoyment which at home he could not indulge4 ,beyond the critical observation of the elders of ,dan he could take his fill of sensual pleasure4 ,not without danger of course4 ,in some brawl the ,philistines might close upon him4 ,but he trusted to his strength to escape from their hands1 and the risk increased the excitement4 ,we must suppose that1 having seen the nearer and less important towns such as ,ekron1 ,gath and ,ashkelon he now ventured to ,gaza in quest of amusement1 in order1 as people say1 to see the world4 ,a constant peril this of seeking excitement1 especially in an age of high civilization4 ,the means of variety and stimulus are multiplied1 and ever the craving outruns them1 a craving yielded to1 with little or no resistance1 by many who should know better4 ,the moral teacher must recognize the desire for variety and excitement as perhaps the chief of all the hindrances he has now to overcome4 ,for one who desires duty there are scores who find it dull and tame and turn from it1 without sense of fault1 to the gaieties of civilized society in which there is nothing wrong as they say1 or at least so little of the positively wrong that conscience is easily appeased4 ,the religious teacher finds the demand for brightness and variety before him at every turn2 he is indeed often touched by it himself and follows with more or less of doubt a path that leads straight from his professed goal4 ,is amusement devilish8 asks one4 ,most people reply with a smile that life must be lively or it is not worth having4 ,and the ,philistinism that attracts them with its dash and gaudiness is not far away nor hard to reach4 ,it is not necessary to go across to the ,continent where the brilliance of ,vienna or ,paris offers a contrast to the grey dulness of a country village2 nor even to ,london where amid the lures of the midnight streets there is peril of the gravest kind4 ,those who are restless and foolhardy can find a ,gaza and a valley of ,sorek nearer home1 in the next market town4 ,philistine life1 lax in morals1 full of rattle and glitter1 heat and change1 in gambling1 in debauchery1 in sheer audacity of movement and talk1 presents its allurements in our streets1 has its acknowledged haunts in our midst4 ,young people brought up to fear ,god in quiet homes whether of town or country are enticed by the whispered counsels of comrades half ashamed of the things they say1 yet eager for more companionship in what they secretly know to be folly or worse4 ,young women are the prey of those who disgrace manhood and womanhood by the offers they make1 the insidious lies they tell4 ,the attraction once felt is apt to master4 ,as the current that rushes swiftly bears them with it they exult in the rapid motion even while life is nearing the fatal cataract4 ,subtle is the progress of infidelity4 ,from the persuasion that enjoyment is lawful and has no peril in it the mind quickly passes to a doubt of the old laws and warnings4 ,is it so certain that there is a reward for purity and unworldliness8 ,is not all the talk about a life to come a jangle of vain words8 ,the present is a reality1 death a certainty1 life a swiftly passing possession4 ,they who enjoy know what they are getting4 ,the rest is dismissed as altogether in the air4 ,with ,samson1 as there was less of faith and law to fling aside1 there was less hardening of heart4 ,he was half a heathen always1 more conscious of bodily than of moral strength1 reliant on that which he had1 indisposed to seek from ,god the holy vigour which he valued little4 ,at ,gaza where moral weakness endangered life his well-knit muscles released him4 ,we see him among the ,philistines entrapped1 apparently in a position from which there is no escape4 ,the gate is closed and guarded4 ,in the morning he is to be seized and killed4 ,but aware of his danger1 his mind not put completely off its balance as yet by the seductions of the place1 he arises at midnight and1 plucking the doors of the city-gate from their sockets carries them to the top of a hill which fronts ,hebron4 ,here is represented what may at first be quite possible to one who has gone into a place of temptation and danger4 ,there is for a time a power of resolution and action which when the peril of the hour is felt may be brought into use4 ,out of the house which is like the gate of hell1 out of the hands of vile tempters it is possible to burst in quick decision and regain liberty4 ,in the valley of ,sorek it may be otherwise1 but here the danger is pressing and rouses the will4 ,yet the power of rising suddenly against temptation1 of breaking from the company of the impure is not to be reckoned on4 ,it is not of ourselves we can be strong and resolute enough1 but of grace4 ,and can a man expect divine succour in a harlot's den8 ,he thinks he may depend upon a certain self-respect1 a certain disgust at vile things and dishonourable life4 ,but vice can be made to seem beautiful1 it can overcome the aversion springing from self-respect and the best education4 ,in the history of one and another of the famous and brilliant1 from the god-like youth of ,macedon to the genius of yesterday the same unutterably sad lesson is taught us2 we trace the quick descent of vice4 ,self-respect8 ,surely to ,goethe1 to ,george ,sand1 to ,musset1 to ,burns that should have remained1 a saving salt4 ,but it is clear that man has not the power of preserving himself4 ,while he says in his heart1 ,that is beneath me2 ,i have better taste2 ,i shall never be guilty of such a low1 false and sickening thing--he has already committed himself4 ,samson heard the trampling of feet in the streets and was warned of physical danger4 ,when midnight came he lost no time4 ,but he was too late4 ,the liberty he regained was not the liberty he had lost4 ,before he entered that house in ,gaza1 before he sat down in it1 before he spoke to the woman there he should have fled4 ,he did not2 and in the valley of ,sorek his strength of will is not equal to the need4 ,delilah beguiles him1 tempts him1 presses him with her wiles4 ,he is infatuated2 his secret is told and ruin comes4 ,moral strength1 needful decision in duty to self and society and ,god--few possess these because few have the high ideal before them1 and the sense of an obligation which gathers force from the view of eternity4 ,we live1 most of us1 in a very limited range of time4 ,we think of to-morrow or the day beyond2 we think of years of health and joy in this world1 rarely of the boundless after-life4 ,to have a stain upon the character1 a blunted moral sense1 a scar that disfigures the mind seems of little account because we anticipate but a temporary reproach or inconvenience4 ,to be defiled1 blinded1 maimed for ever1 to be incapacitated for the labour and joy of the higher world does not enter into our thought4 ,and many who are nervously anxious to appear well in the sight of men are shameless when ,god only can see4 ,moral strength does not spring out of such imperfect views of obligation4 ,what availed ,samson's fidelity to the ,nazirite vow when by another gate he let in the foe8 ,the common kind of religion is a vow which covers two or three points of duty only4 ,the value and glory of the religion of the ,bible are that it sets us on our guard and strengthens us against everything that is dangerous to the soul and to society4 ,suppose it were asked wherein our strength lies1 what would be the answer8 ,say that one after another stood aside conscious of being without strength until one was found willing to be tested4 ,assume that he could say1 ,i am temperate1 ,i am pure2 passion never masters me3 so far the account is good4 ,you hail him as a man of moral power1 capable of serving society4 ,but you have to inquire further before you can be satisfied4 ,you have to say1 ,some have had too great liking for money4 ,francis ,bacon1 ,lord ,chancellor of ,england1 notable in the first rank of philosophers1 took bribes and was convicted upon twenty-three charges of corruption4 ,are you proof against covetousness8 because if you can be tempted by the glitter of gold reliance cannot be placed upon you4 ,and again it must be asked of the man--,is there any temptress who can wind you about her fingers1 overcome your conscientious scruples1 wrest from you the secret you ought to keep and make you break your covenant with ,god1 even as ,delilah overcame ,samson8 ,because1 if there is1 you are weaker than a vile woman and no dependence can be placed upon you4 ,we learn from history what this kind of temptation does4 ,we see one after another1 kings1 statesmen1 warriors who figure bravely upon the scene for a time1 their country proud of them1 the best hopes of the good centred in them1 suddenly in the midst of their career falling into pitiable weakness and covering themselves with disgrace4 ,like ,samson they have loved some woman in the valley of ,sorek4 ,in the life of to-day instances of the same pitiable kind occur in every rank and class4 ,the shadow falls on men who held high places in society or stood for a time as pillars in the house of ,god4 ,or1 taking another case1 one may be able to say1 ,i am not avaricious1 ,i have fidelity1 ,i would not desert a friend nor speak a falsehood for any bribe2 ,i am pure2 for courage and patriotism you may rely upon me3--here are surely signs of real strength4 ,yet that man may be wanting in the divine faithfulness on which every virtue ultimately depends4 ,with all his good qualities he may have no root in the heavenly1 no spiritual faith1 ardour1 decision4 ,let him have great opposition to encounter1 long patience to maintain1 generosity and self-denial to exercise without prospect of quick reward--and will he stand8 ,in the final test nothing but fidelity to the ,highest1 tried and sure fidelity to ,god can give a man any right to the confidence of others4 ,that chain alone which is welded with the fire of holy consecration1 devotion of heart and strength and mind to the will of ,god is able to bear the strain4 ,if we are to fight the battles of life and resist the urgency of its temptations the whole divine law as ,christ has set it forth must be our ,nazirite vow and we must count ourselves in respect of every obligation the bondmen of ,god4 ,duty must not be a matter of self-respect but of ardent aspiration4 ,the way of our life may lead us into some ,gaza full of enticements1 into the midst of those who make light of the names we revere and the truths we count most sacred4 ,prosperity may come with its strong temptations to pride and vainglory4 ,if we would be safe it must be in the constant gratitude to ,god of those who feel the responsibility and the hope that are kindled at the cross1 as those who have died with ,christ and now live with ,him unto ,god4 ,in this redeemed life it may be almost said there is no temptation2 the earthly ceases to lure1 gay shows and gauds cease to charm the soul4 ,there still are comforts and pleasures in ,god's world1 but they do not enchain4 ,a vision of the highest duty and reality overshines all that is trivial and passing4 ,and this is life--the fulness1 the charm1 the infinite variety and strength of being4 ,how can he that is dead to the world live any longer therein8 ,yet he lives as he never did before4 ,in the experience of ,samson in the valley of ,sorek we find another warning4 ,we learn the persistence with which spiritual enemies pursue those whom they mark for their prey4 ,it has been said that the adversaries of good are always most active in following the best men with their persecutions4 ,this we take leave to deny4 ,it is when a man shows some weakness1 gives an opportunity for assault that he is pressed and hunted as a wounded lion by a tribe of savages4 ,the occasion was given to the ,philistines by ,samson's infatuation4 ,had he been a man of stern purity they would have had no point of attack4 ,but ,delilah could be bribed4 ,the lords of the ,philistines offered her a large sum to further their ends1 and she1 a willing instrument1 pressed ,samson with her entreaties4 ,baffled again and again she did not rest till the reward was won4 ,we can easily see the madness of the man in treating lightly1 as if it were a game he was sure to win1 the solicitations of the adventuress4 ,the ,philistines be upon thee1 ,samson--again and again he heard that threat and laughed at it4 ,the green withes1 the new ropes with which he was bound were snapped at will4 ,even when his hair was woven into the web he could go away with web and beam and the pin with which they had been fixed to the ground4 ,but if he had been aware of what he was doing how could he have failed to see that he was approaching the fatal capitulation1 that wiles and blandishments were gaining upon him8 ,when he allowed her to tamper with the sign of his vow it was the presage of the end4 ,so it often is4 ,the wiles of the spirit of this world are woven very cunningly4 ,first the over-scrupulous observance of religious ordinances is assailed4 ,the tempter succeeds so far that the ,sabbath is made a day of pleasure3 then the cry is raised1 ,the ,philistines be upon thee4 ,but the man only laughs4 ,he feels himself quite strong as yet1 able for any moral task4 ,another lure is framed--gambling1 drinking4 ,it is yielded to moderately1 a single bet by way of sport1 one deep draught on some extraordinary occasion4 ,he who is the object of persecution is still self-confident4 ,he scorns the thought of danger4 ,a prey to gambling1 to debauchery8 ,he is far enough from that4 ,but his weakness is discovered4 ,satanic profit is to be made out of his fall2 and he shall not escape4 ,it is true as ever it was that the friendship of the world is a snare4 ,when the meshes of time and sense close upon us we may be sure that the end aimed at is our death4 ,the whole world is a valley of ,sorek to weak man1 and at every turn he needs a higher than himself to guard and guide him4 ,he is indeed a ,samson1 a child in morals1 though full-grown in muscle4 ,there are some it is true who are able to help1 who if they were beside in the hour of peril would interpose with counsel and warning and protection4 ,but a time comes to each of us when he has to go alone through the dangerous streets4 ,then unless he holds straight forward1 looking neither to right hand nor left1 pressing towards the mark1 his weakness will be quickly detected1 that secret tendency scarcely known to himself by which he can be most easily assailed4 ,nor will it be forgotten if once it has been discovered4 ,it is now the property of a legion4 ,be it vanity or avarice1 ambition or sensuousness1 the ,philistines know how to gain their end by means of it4 ,there is strength indeed to be had4 ,the weakest may become strong1 able to face all the tempters in the world and to pass unscathed through the streets of ,gaza or the crowds of ,vanity ,fair4 ,nor is the succour far away4 ,yet to persuade men of their need and then to bring them to the feet of ,god are the most difficult of tasks in an age of self-sufficiency and spiritual unreason4 ,harder than ever is the struggle to rescue the victims of worldly fashion1 enticement and folly3 for the false word has gone forth that here and here only is the life of man and that renouncing the temporal is renouncing all4 ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,sorek ,,and ,,of ,,death4 ,,judges xvi4 #d-ca4 ,the strong bold man who has blindly fought his battles and sold himself to the traitress and to the enemy1 ,eyeless in ,gaza at the mill with slaves1 the sport and scorn of those who once feared him1 is a mournful object4 ,as we look upon him there in his humiliation1 his temper and power wasted1 his life withered in its prime1 we almost forget the folly and the sin1 so much are we moved to pity and regret4 ,for ,samson is a picture1 vigorous in outline and colour1 of what in a less striking way many are and many more would be if it were not for restraints of divine grace4 ,a fallen hero is this4 ,but the career of multitudes without the dash and energy ends in the like misery of defeat2 nothing done1 not much attempted1 their existence fades into the sere and yellow leaf4 ,there has been no ardour to make death glorious4 ,every man has his defects1 his besetting sins1 his dangers4 ,it is in the consciousness of our own that we approach with sorrow the last scenes of the eventful history of ,samson4 ,who dares cast a stone at him8 ,who can fling a taunt as he is seen groping about in his blindness8 ,a little onward lend thy guiding hand ,to these dark steps1 a little further on4 ,for yonder bank hath choice of sun or shade2 ,there ,i am wont to sit when any chance ,relieves me from my task of servile toil4 ,o dark1 dark1 dark amid the blaze of noon1 ,irrecoverably dark1 total eclipse ,without all hope of day3 so we hear him bewail his lot4 ,and we1 perchance1 feeling weakness creep over us while bonds of circumstance still hold us from what we see to be our divine calling1--we compassionate ourselves in pitying him2 or1 if we are as yet strong and buoyant1 our history before us1 plans for useful service of our time clearly in view1 have we not already felt the symptoms of moral infirmity which make it doubtful whether we shall reach our goal8 ,there are many hindrances1 and even the brave unselfish man who never loiters in ,gaza or in the treacherous valley may find his way barred by obstacles he cannot remove4 ,but in the case of most the hindrances within are the most numerous and powerful4 ,this man who should effect much for his age is held by love which blinds him1 that other by hatred which masters him4 ,now covetousness1 now pride is the deterrent4 ,many begin to know themselves and the difficulty of doing great tasks for ,god and man when noontide is past and the day has begun to decline4 ,great numbers have only dreamed of attempting something and have never bestirred themselves to act4 ,so it is that ,samson's defeat appears a symbol of the pathetic human failure4 ,to many his character is full of sad interest1 for in it they see what they have fears of becoming or what they have already become4 ,what has ,samson lost when he has revealed his secret to ,delilah8 ,observe him when he goes forth from the woman's house and stands in the sunlight4 ,apart from the want of his waving locks he seems the same and is physically the same2 muscle and sinew1 bone and nerve1 stout-beating heart and strong arm1 ,samson is there4 ,and his human will is as eager as ever2 he is a bold daring man this morning as he was last evening1 with the same dream of breaking through all and bearing himself as king4 ,but he is more lonely than ever before2 something has gone from his soul4 ,a heavy sense of faithlessness to one prized distinction and known duty oppresses him4 ,shake thyself as at other times1 poor rash ,samson1 but know in thy heart that at last thou art powerless3 the audacity of faith is no longer thine4 ,thou art the natural man still1 but that is not enough1 the spiritual sanction gone4 ,the ,philistines1 half afraid1 gather about thee ten to one2 they can bind now and lead captive for thou hast lost the girdle which knit thy powers together and made thee invincible4 ,the consciousness of being ,god's man is gone--the consciousness of being true to that which united thee in a rude but very real bond to the ,almighty4 ,thou hast scorned the vow which kept thee from the abyss1 and with the knowledge of utter moral baseness comes physical prostration1 despair1 feebleness1 ruin4 ,samson at last knows himself to be no king at all1 no hero nor judge4 ,it is common to think the spiritual of little account1 faith in ,god of little account4 ,suppose men give that up2 suppose they no longer hold themselves bound by duty to the ,almighty2 they expect nevertheless to continue the same4 ,they will still have their reason1 their strength of body and of mind2 they believe that all they once did they shall still be able to do and now more freely in their own way1 therefore even more successfully4 ,is that so8 ,hope is a spiritual thing4 ,it is apart from bodily strength1 distinct from energy and manual skill4 ,take hope away from a man1 the strongest1 the bravest1 the most intelligent1 and will he be the same8 ,nay4 ,his eye loses its lustre2 the vigour of his will decays2 he lies powerless and defeated4 ,or take love away--love which is again a spiritual thing4 ,let the ardour1 the reason for exertion which love inspired pass away4 ,let the man who loved and would have dared all for love be deprived of that source of vital power1 and he will dare no longer4 ,sad and weary and dispirited he will cast himself down careless of life4 ,but hope and love are not so necessary to the full tide of human vigour1 are not so potent in stirring the powers of manhood as the friendship of ,god1 the consciousness that made by ,god for ends of ,his we have ,him as our stay4 ,indeed without this consciousness manhood never finds its strength4 ,this gives a hope far higher and more sustaining than any of a personal or temporal kind4 ,it makes us strong by virtue of the finest and deepest affection which can possibly move us2 and more than that it gives to life full meaning1 proper aim and justification4 ,a man without the sense of a divine origin and election has no standing-ground2 he is so to speak without the right of existence1 he has no claim to be heard in speaking and to have a place among those who act4 ,but he who feels himself to be in the world on ,god's business1 to be ,god's servant1 has his assured place and claim as a man1 and can see reason and purpose for every sharp trial to which he is put4 ,here then is the secret of strength1 the only source of power and steadfastness for any man or woman4 ,and he who has had it and lost it1 breaking with ,god for the sake of gain or pleasure or some earthly affection1 must like ,samson feel his vigour sapped1 his confidence forfeited4 ,now his power to command1 to advise1 to contend for any worthy result has passed away4 ,he is a tree whose root ceases to feed in the soil though still the leaves are green4 ,the spiritual loss1 the loss of living faith1 is the great one3 but is it for that we generally pity ourselves or any person known to us8 ,life and freedom are dear1 the ability to put forth energy at our will1 the sense of capacity2 and it is the loss of these in outward and visible ranges that most moves us to grief4 ,we commiserate the strong man whose exploits in the world seem to be over1 as we pity the orator whose power of speech is gone1 the artist who can no more handle the brush1 the eager merchant whose bargaining is done4 ,we give our sympathy to ,samson1 because in the midst of his days he has fallen overcome by treachery1 because the cruelty of enemies has afflicted him4 ,yet1 looking at the truth of things1 the real cause of pity is deeper than any of these and different4 ,a man who is still in living touch with ,god can suffer the saddest deprivations and retain a cheerful heart1 unbroken courage and hope4 ,suppose that ,samson1 surprised by his enemies while he was about some worthy task1 had been seized1 deprived of his sight1 bound with fetters of iron and consigned to prison4 ,should we then have had to pity him as we must when he is taken1 a traitor to himself1 the dupe of a deceiver1 with the badge of his vow and the sense of his fidelity gone8 ,we feel with ,jeremiah in his affliction2 we feel with ,john the ,baptist confined in the prison into which ,herod has cast him1 with ,st4 ,paul in the ,philippian dungeon and with ,st4 ,peter lying bound with chains in the castle of ,jerusalem4 ,but we do not commiserate1 we admire and exult4 ,here are men who endure for the right4 ,they are martyrs1 fellow-sufferers with ,christ2 they are marching with the cohorts of ,god to the deliverances of eternity4 ,ah6 ,it is the men who are martyrs by the pang without the palm1 the men who have lost not only liberty but nobleness1 who dragged after false lures have sold their prudence and their strength--these it is for whom we need to weep4 ,he who doing his duty has been mastered by enemies1 he who fighting a brave battle has been overcome--let us not dare to pity him4 ,but the man who has given up the battle of faith1 who has lost his glory1 him the heavens look upon with the profound sorrow that is called for by a wasted life4 ,and how pathetic the touch3 ,he wist not that the ,lord had departed from him4 ,for a little time he failed to realize the spiritual disaster he had brought on himself4 ,for a little time only2 soon the dark conviction seized him4 ,but worse still would have been his case if he had remained unconscious of loss4 ,this sense of weakness is the last boon to the sinner4 ,god still does this for him1 poor headstrong child of nature as he would fain be1 living by and for himself3 he is not permitted4 ,whether he will own it or not he shall be weak and useless until he returns to ,god and to himself4 ,often indeed we find the enslaved ,samson refusing to allow that anything is wrong with him4 ,out of sight of the world1 in some very secret place he has broken the obligations of faith1 temperance1 chastity1 and yet thinks no special result has followed4 ,he can meet the demands of society and that is enough1 supposing the matter should come to light4 ,of the subtle poisoning of his own soul he has no thought4 ,is the thing hidden then8 ,the law which determines that as a man is so his strength shall be follows every one into the most secret place4 ,it keeps watch over our veracity1 our sobriety1 our purity1 our faithfulness4 ,whenever in one point our covenant with ,god is broken a part of strength is taken away4 ,do we not perceive the loss8 ,do we flatter ourselves that all is as before8 ,that is only our spiritual blindness2 the fact remains4 ,what a pitiful thing it is to see men in this plight trying in vain to go about as if nothing had happened and they were as fit as ever for their places in society and in the church6 ,we do not speak solely of sins like those into which ,samson and ,david fell4 ,there are others1 scarcely reckoned sins1 which as surely result in moral weakness perceived or unperceived1 in the loss of ,god's countenance and support4 ,our covenant is to be pure and also merciful2 let one fail in mercifulness1 let there be a harsh pitiless temper cherished in secret1 and this as well as impurity will make him morally weak4 ,our covenant is to be generous as well as honest2 let a man keep from the poor and from the church what he ought to give1 and he will lose his strength of soul as surely as if he cheated another in trade1 or took what was not his own4 ,but we distinguish between sin and default and think of the latter as a mere infirmity which has no ill effect4 ,there is no acknowledgment of loss even when it has become almost complete4 ,the man who is not generous nor merciful1 nor a defender of faith goes on thinking all is well with him1 imagining that his futile religious exercises or gifts to this and that keep him on good terms with ,god and that he is helping the world1 while in truth he has not the moral strength of a child4 ,he acts the part of a ,christian teacher or servant of the church1 he leads in prayer1 he joins in deliberations that have to do with the success of ,christian work4 ,to himself all seems satisfactory and he expects that good shall result from his efforts4 ,but it cannot be4 ,there is the strain of exertion but no power4 ,do we wonder that more is not effected by our organizations1 religious and other1 which seem so powerful1 quite capable of ,christianising and reforming the world8 ,the reason is that many of the professed religious and benevolent1 who appear zealous and strenuous1 are dying at heart4 ,the ,lord may not have departed from them utterly2 they are not dead2 there is still a rootlet of spiritual being4 ,but they cannot fight2 they cannot help others2 they cannot run in the way of ,god's commandments4 ,are we not bound to ask ourselves how we stand1 whether any failure in our covenant-keeping has made us spiritually weak4 ,if we are paltering with eternal facts1 if between us and the one ,source of ,life there is a widening distance surely the need is urgent for a return to ,christian honour and fidelity which will make us strong and useful4 ,and there is something here in the story of ,samson that bids us think hopefully of a new way and a new life4 ,in the misery to which he was reduced there came to him with renewed acceptance of his vow a fresh endowment of vigour4 ,it is the divine healing1 the grace of the long-suffering ,father which are thus represented4 ,no human soul needs to be utterly disconsolate1 for grace waits ever on discomfiture4 ,return to me1 says the ,lord1 and ,i will return to you2 ,i will heal your backslidings and love you freely4 ,out of the deepest depths there is a way to the heights of spiritual privilege and power4 ,to confess our faults and sins1 to resume the fidelity1 the uprightness1 the generosity and mercifulness we renounced1 to take again the straight upward path of self-denial and duty--this is always reserved for the soul that has not utterly perished4 ,the man1 young or old1 who has become weaker than a child for any good work may hear the call that speaks of hope4 ,he who in self-indulgence or hard worldliness has abandoned ,god may turn again to the ,father's entreaty1 ,remember from what thou hast fallen and repent4 ,we pass now to consider a point suggested by the terms in which the ,philistines triumphed over their captured foe4 ,when the people saw him they praised their ,god3 for they said1 ,our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy1 and the destroyer of our country which hath slain many of us4 ,here the ignorant religiousness and gratitude of ,philistines to a god which was no ,god might provoke a smile were it not for the consideration that under the clear light of ,christianity equal ignorance is often shown by those who profess to be piously grateful4 ,you say it was the bribe which the ,philistine lords offered to ,delilah and her treachery and ,samson's sin that put him in the enemy's hand4 ,you say1 ,surely the most ignorant man in ,gaza must have seen that ,dagon had nothing whatever to do with the result4 ,and yet it is very common to ascribe to ,god what is nowise ,his doing4 ,there are indeed times when we almost shudder to hear ,god thanked for that which could only be attributed to a ,dagon or a ,moloch4 ,we are told of the tribal gods of those old ,syrians--,baal1 ,melcarth1 ,sutekh1 ,milcom and the rest--each adored as master and protector by some people or race4 ,piously the devotees of each god acknowledged his hand in every victory and every fortunate circumstance1 at the same time tracing to his anger and their own neglect of duty to him all calamities and defeats4 ,may it not be said that the belief of many still is in a tribal god1 falsely called by the name of ,jehovah1 a god whose chief function is to look after their interests whoever may suffer1 and take their side in all quarrels whoever may be in the right8 ,men make for themselves the rude outline of a divinity who is supposed to be indifferent or hostile to every circle but their own1 suspicious of every church but their own1 careless of the sufferings of all but themselves4 ,in two countries that are at war prayers for success will ascend in almost the same terms to one who is thought of as a national protector1 not to the ,father of all2 each side is utterly regardless of the other1 makes no allowance in prayer for the possibility that the other may be in the right4 ,the thanksgivings of the victors too will be mixed with glorying almost fiendish over the defeated1 whose blood1 it may be1 dyed in pathetic martyrdom their own hill-sides and valleys4 ,in less flagrant cases1 where it is only a question of gain or loss in trade1 of getting some object of desire1 the same spirit is shown4 ,god is thanked for bestowing that of which another1 perhaps more worthy1 is deprived4 ,it is not to the kindness of ,heaven1 but rather to the proving severity of ,god1 we may say1 that the result is due4 ,looking on with clear eyes we see something very different from divine approval in the prosperous efforts of unscrupulous push and wire-pulling4 ,those who have much success in the world have need to justify their comforts and the praise they enjoy4 ,they need to show cause to the ranks of the obscure and ill-paid for their superior fortune4 ,success like theirs cannot be admitted as a special mark of the favour of that ,god ,whose ways are equal1 ,whose name is the ,holy and ,just4 ,next look at the ignoble task to which ,samson is put by the ,philistines1 a type of the ignominious uses to which the hero may be doomed by the crowd4 ,the multitude cannot be trusted with a great man4 ,in the prison at ,gaza the fallen chief was set to grind corn1 to do the work of slaves4 ,to him1 indeed1 work was a blessing4 ,from the bitter thoughts that would have eaten out his heart he was somewhat delivered by the irksome labour4 ,in reality1 as we now perceive1 no work degrades2 but a man of ,samson's type and period thought differently4 ,the ,philistine purpose was to degrade him2 and the ,hebrew captive would feel in the depths of his hot brooding nature the humiliating doom4 ,look then at the parallels4 ,think of a great statesman placed at the head of a nation to guide its policy in the line of righteousness1 to bring its laws into harmony with the principles of human freedom and divine justice--think of such a one1 while labouring at his sacred task with all the ardour of a noble heart1 called to account by those whose only desire is for better trade1 the means of beating their rivals in some market or bolstering up their failing speculations4 ,or see him at another time pursued by the cry of a class that feels its prescriptive rights invaded or its position threatened4 ,take again a poet1 an artist1 a writer1 a preacher intent on great themes1 eagerly following after the ideal to which he has devoted himself1 but exposed every moment to the criticism of men who have no soul--held up to ridicule and reprobation because he does not accept vulgar models and repeat the catchwords of this or that party4 ,philistinism is always in this way asserting its claim1 and ever and anon it succeeds in dragging some ardent soul into the dungeon to grind thenceforth at the mill4 ,with the very highest too it is not afraid to inter-meddle4 ,christ ,himself is not safe4 ,the ,philistines of to-day are doing their utmost to make ,his name inglorious4 ,for what else is the modern cry that ,christianity should be chiefly about the business of making life comfortable in this world and providing not only bread but amusement for the crowd8 ,the ideas of the church are not practical enough for this generation4 ,to get rid of sin--that is a dream2 to make men fearers of ,god1 soldiers of truth1 doers of righteousness at all hazards--that is in the air4 ,let it be given up2 let us seek what we can reach2 bind the name of ,christ and the ,spirit of ,christ in chains to the work of a practical secularism1 and let us turn churches into pleasant lounging places and picture galleries4 ,why should the soul have the benefit of so great a name as that of the ,son of ,god8 ,is not the body more8 ,is not the main business to have houses and railways1 news and enjoyment8 ,the policy of undeifying ,christ is having too much success4 ,if it make way there will soon be need for a fresh departure into the wilderness4 ,the last scene of ,samson's history awaits us--the gigantic effort1 the awful revenge in which the ,hebrew champion ended his days4 ,in one sense it aptly crowns the man's career4 ,the sacred historian is not composing a romance1 yet the end could not have been more fit4 ,strangely enough it has given occasion for preaching the doctrine of self-sacrifice as the only means of highest achievement1 and we are asked to see here an example of the finest heroism1 the most sublime devotion4 ,samson dying for his country is likened to ,christ dying for ,his people4 ,it is impossible to allow this for a moment4 ,not ,milton's apology for ,samson1 not the authority of all the illustrious men who have drawn the parallel can keep us from deciding that this was a case of vengeance and self-murder not of noble devotion4 ,we have no sense of vindicated principle when we see that temple fall in terrible ruin1 but a thrill of disappointment and keen sorrow that a servant of ,jehovah should have done this in ,his name4 ,the lords of the ,philistines1 all the serens or chiefs of the hundred cities are gathered in the ample porch of the building4 ,true1 they are assembled at an idolatrous feast2 but this idolatry is their religion which they cannot choose but exercise for they know of no better1 nor has ,samson ever done one deed or spoken one word that could convince them of error4 ,true1 they are met to rejoice over their enemy and they call for him in cruel vainglory to make them sport4 ,yet this is the man who for his sport and in his revenge once burned the standing corn of a whole valley and more than once went on slaying ,philistines till he was weary4 ,true1 ,samson as a patriotic ,israelite views these people as enemies4 ,yet it was among them he first sought a wife and afterwards pleasure4 ,and now1 if he decides to die that he may kill a thousand enemies at once1 is the self-chosen death less an act of suicide8 ,if this was truly a fine act of self-sacrifice what good came of it8 ,the sacrifice that is to be praised does distinct and clearly purposed service to some worthy cause or high moral end4 ,we do not find that this dreadful deed reconciled the ,philistines to ,israel or moved them to belief in ,jehovah4 ,we observe1 on the contrary1 that it went to increase the hatred between race and race1 so that when ,canaanites1 ,moabites1 ,ammonites1 ,midianites no longer vex ,israel these ,philistines show more deadly antagonism--antagonism of which ,israel knew the heat when on the red field of ,gilboa the kingly ,saul and the well-beloved ,jonathan were together stricken down in death4 ,if there was in ,samson's mind any thought of vindicating a principle it was that of ,israel's dignity as the people of ,jehovah4 ,but here his testimony was worthless4 ,as we have already said1 much is written about self-sacrifice which is sheer mockery of truth1 most falsely sentimental4 ,men and women are urged to the notion that if they can only find some pretext for renouncing freedom1 for curbing and endangering life1 for stepping aside from the way of common service that they may give up something in an uncommon way for the sake of any person or cause1 good will come of it4 ,the doctrine is a lie4 ,the sacrifice of ,christ was not of that kind4 ,it was under the influence of no blind desire to give up ,his life1 but first under the pressure of a supreme providential necessity1 then in renunciation of the earthly life for a clearly seen and personally embraced divine end1 the reconciliation of man to ,god1 the setting forth of a propitiation for the sin of the world--for this it was ,he died4 ,he willed to be our ,saviour2 having so chosen ,he bowed to the burden that was laid upon ,him4 ,it pleased the ,lord to bruise ,him2 ,he hath put ,him to grief4 ,to the end ,he foresaw and desired there was but one way--and the way was that of death because of man's wickedness and ruin4 ,suffering for itself is no end and never can be to ,god or to ,christ or to a good man4 ,it is a necessity on the way to the ends of righteousness and love4 ,if personality is not a delusion and salvation a dream there must be in every case of ,christian renunciation some distinct moral aim in view for every one concerned1 and there must be at each step1 as in the action of our ,lord1 the most distinct and unwavering sincerity1 the most direct truthfulness4 ,anything else is a sin against ,god and humanity4 ,we entreat would-be moralists of the day to comprehend before they write of self-sacrifice4 ,the sacrifice of the moral judgment is always a crime1 and to preach needless suffering for the sake of covering up sin or as a means of atoning for past defects is to utter most unchristian falsehood4 ,samson threw away a life of which he was weary and ashamed4 ,he threw it away in avenging a cruelty2 but it was a cruelty he had no reason to call a wrong4 ,o ,god1 that ,i might be avenged6--that was no prayer of a faithful heart4 ,it was the prayer of envenomed hatred1 of a soul still unregenerate after trial4 ,his death was indeed self-sacrifice--the sacrifice of the higher self1 the true self1 to the lower4 ,samson should have endured patiently1 magnifying ,god4 ,or we can imagine something not perfect yet heroic4 ,had he said to those ,philistines1 ,my people and you have been too long at enmity4 ,let there be an end of it4 ,avenge yourselves on me1 then cease from harassing ,israel1--that would have been like a brave man4 ,but it is not this we find4 ,and we close the story of ,samson more sad than ever that ,israel's history has not taught a great man to be a good man1 that the hero has not achieved the morally heroic1 that adversity has not begotten in him a wise patience and magnanimity4 ,yet he had a place under ,divine ,providence4 ,the dim troubled faith that was in his soul was not altogether fruitless4 ,no ,jehovah-worshipper would ever think of bowing before that god whose temple fell in ruins on the captive ,israelite and his thousand victims4 ,,xxiv4 ,,the ,,stolen ,,gods4 ,,judges xvii41 xviii4 ,the portion of the ,book of ,judges which begins with the seventeenth chapter and extends to the close is not in immediate connection with that which has gone before4 ,we read 7ch4 xviii4 #cj7 that ,jonathan1 the son of ,gershom1 the son of ,manasseh1 he and his sons were priests to the tribe of ,dan until the day of the captivity of the land4 ,but the proper reading is1 ,jonathan1 the son of ,gershom1 the son of ,moses4 ,it would seem that the renegade ,levite of the narrative was a near descendant of the great law-giver4 ,so rapidly did the zeal of the priestly house decline that in the third or fourth generation after ,moses one of his own line became minister of an idol temple for the sake of a living4 ,it is evident1 then1 that in the opening of the seventeenth chapter we are carried back to the time immediately following the conquest of ,canaan by ,joshua1 when ,othniel was settling in the south and the tribes were endeavouring to establish themselves in the districts allotted to them4 ,the note of time is of course far from precise1 but the incidents are certainly to be placed early in the period4 ,we are introduced first to a family living in ,mount ,ephraim consisting of a widow and her son ,micah who is married and has sons of his own4 ,it appears that on the death of the father of ,micah a sum of eleven hundred shekels of silver1 about a hundred and twenty pounds of our money--a large amount for the time--was missed by the widow1 who after vain search for it spoke in strong terms about the matter to her son4 ,he had taken the money to use in stocking his farm or in trade and at once acknowledged that he had done so and restored it to his mother1 who hastened to undo any evil her words had caused by invoking upon him the blessing of ,god4 ,further she dedicated two hundred of her shekels to make graven and molten images in token of piety and gratitude4 ,we have here a very significant revelation of the state of religion4 ,the indignation of ,moses had burned against the people when at ,sinai they made a rude image of gold1 sacrificed to it and danced about it in heathen revel4 ,we are reading of what took place say a century after that scene at the foot of ,sinai1 and already those who desire to show their devotion to the ,eternal1 very imperfectly known as ,jehovah1 make teraphim and molten images to represent ,him4 ,micah has a sort of private chapel or temple among the buildings in his courtyard4 ,he consecrates one of his sons to be priest of this little sanctuary4 ,and the historian adds in explanation of this1 as one keenly aware of the benefits of good government under a ,god-fearing monarch--,in those days there was no king in ,israel4 ,every man did that which was right in his own eyes4 ,we need not take for granted that the worship in this hill-chapel was of the heathen sort4 ,there was probably no ,baal1 no ,astarte among the images2 or1 if there was1 it may have been merely as representing a ,syrian power prudently recognised but not adored4 ,no hint occurs in the whole story of a licentious or a cruel cult1 although there must have been something dangerously like the superstitious practices of ,canaan4 ,micah's chapel1 whatever the observances were1 gave direct introduction to the pagan forms and notions which prevailed among the people of the land4 ,there already ,jehovah was degraded to the rank of a nature-divinity1 and represented by figures4 ,in one of the highland valleys towards the north of ,ephraim's territory ,micah had his castle and his ecclesiastical establishment--state and church in germ4 ,the ,israelites of the neighbourhood1 who looked up to the well-to-do farmer for protection1 regarded him all the more that he showed respect for religion1 that he had this house of gods and a private priest4 ,they came to worship in his sanctuary and to inquire of the ecclesiastic1 who in some way endeavoured to discover the will of ,god by means of the teraphim and ephod4 ,the ark of the covenant was not far away for ,bethel and ,gilgal were both within a day's journey4 ,but the people did not care to be at the trouble of going so far4 ,they liked better their own local shrine and its homelier ways2 and when at length ,micah secured the services of a ,levite the worship seemed to have all the sanction that could possibly be desired4 ,it need hardly be said that ,god is not confined to a locality1 that in those days as in our own the true worshipper could find the ,almighty on any hill-top1 in any dwelling or private place1 as well as at the accredited shrine4 ,it is quite true1 also1 that ,god makes large allowance for the ignorance of men and their need of visible signs and symbols of what is unseen and eternal4 ,we must not therefore assume at once that in ,micah's house of idols1 before the widow's graven and molten figures there could be no acceptable worship1 no prayers that reached the ear of the ,lord of ,hosts4 ,and one might even go the length of saying that1 perhaps1 in this schismatic sanctuary1 this chapel of images1 devotion could be quite as sincere as before the ark itself4 ,little good came of the religious ordinances maintained there during the whole period of the judges1 and even in ,eli's latter days the vileness and covetousness practised at ,shiloh more than countervailed any pious influence4 ,local and family altars therefore must have been of real use4 ,but this was the danger1 that leaving the appointed centre of ,jehovah-worship1 where symbolism was confined within safe limits1 the people should in ignorant piety multiply objects of adoration and run into polytheism4 ,hence the importance of the decree1 afterwards recognised1 that one place of sacrifice should gather to it all the tribes and that there the ark of the covenant with its altar should alone speak of the will and holiness of ,god4 ,and the story of the ,danite migration connected with this of ,micah and his ,levite well illustrates the wisdom of such a law1 for it shows how1 in the far north1 a sanctuary and a worship were set up which1 existing long for tribal devotion1 became a national centre of impure worship4 ,the wandering ,levite from ,bethlehem-judah is one1 we must believe1 of many ,levites1 who having found no inheritance because the cities allotted to them were as yet unconquered spread themselves over the land seeking a livelihood1 ready to fall in with any local customs of religion that offered them position and employment4 ,the ,levites were esteemed as men acquainted with the way of ,jehovah1 able to maintain that communication with ,him without which no business could be hopefully undertaken4 ,something of the dignity that was attached to the names of ,moses and ,aaron ensured them honourable treatment everywhere unless among the lowest of the people2 and when this ,levite reached the dwelling of ,micah1 beside which there seems to have been a khan or lodging-place for travellers1 the chance of securing him was at once seized4 ,for ten pieces of silver1 say twenty-five shillings a year1 with a suit of clothes and his food1 he agreed to become ,micah's private chaplain4 ,at this very cheap rate the whole household expected a time of prosperity and divine favour4 ,now know ,i1 said the head of the family1 that the ,lord will do me good seeing ,i have a ,levite to my priest4 ,we must fear that he took some advantage of the man's need1 that he did not much consider the honour of ,jehovah yet reckoned on getting a blessing all the same4 ,it was a case of seeking the best religious privileges as cheaply as possible1 a very common thing in all ages4 ,but the coming of the ,levite was to have results ,micah did not foresee4 ,jonathan had lived in ,bethlehem1 and some ten or twelve miles westward down the valley one came to ,zorah and ,eshtaol1 two little towns of the tribe of ,dan of which we have heard4 ,the ,levite had apparently become pretty well known in the district and especially in those villages to which he went to offer sacrifice or perform some other religious rite4 ,and now a series of incidents brought certain old acquaintances to his new place of abode4 ,even in ,samson's time the tribe of ,dan1 whose territory was to be along the coast west from ,judah1 was still obliged to content itself with the slopes of the hills1 not having got possession of the plain4 ,in the earlier period with which we are now dealing the ,danites were in yet greater difficulty1 for not only had they ,philistines on the one side but ,amorites on the other4 ,the ,amorites would dwell1 we are told1 in ,mount ,heres1 in ,aijalon and in ,shaalbim4 ,it was this pressure which determined the people about ,zorah and ,eshtaol to find if possible another place of settlement1 and five men were sent out in search4 ,travelling north they took the same way as the ,levite had taken1 heard of the same khan in the hill-country of ,ephraim and made it their resting-place for a night4 ,the discovery of the ,levite ,jonathan followed and of the chapel in which he ministered with its wonderful array of images4 ,we can suppose the deputation had thoughts they did not express1 but for the present they merely sought the help of the priest1 begging him to consult the oracle on their behalf and learn whether their mission would be successful4 ,the five went on their journey with the encouragement1 ,go in peace2 before the ,lord is your way wherein ye go4 ,months pass without any more tidings of the ,danites until one day a great company is seen following the hill-road near ,micah's farm4 ,there are six hundred men girt with weapons of war with their wives and children and cattle1 a whole clan on the march1 filling the road for miles and moving slowly northward4 ,the five men have indeed succeeded after a fashion4 ,away between ,lebanon and ,hermon in the region of the sources of ,jordan they have found the sort of district they went to seek4 ,its chief town ,laish stood in the midst of fertile fields with plenty of wood and water4 ,it was a place1 according to their large report1 where was no want of anything that is in the earth4 ,moreover the inhabitants1 who seem to have been a ,phoenician colony1 dwelt by themselves quiet and secure having no dealings or treaty with the powerful ,zidonians4 ,they were the very kind of people whom a sudden attack would be likely to subdue4 ,there was an immediate migration of ,danites to this fresh field1 and in prospect of bloody work the men of ,zorah and ,eshtaol seem to have had no doubt as to the rightness of their expedition2 it was enough that they had felt themselves straitened4 ,the same reason appears to suffice many in modern times4 ,were the aboriginal inhabitants of ,america and ,australia considered by those who coveted their land8 ,even the pretence of buying has not always been maintained4 ,murder and rapine have been the methods used by men of our own blood1 our own name1 and no nation under the sun has a record darker than the tale of ,british conquest4 ,men who go forth to steal land are quite fit to attempt the strange business of stealing gods--that is appropriating to themselves the favour of divine powers and leaving other men destitute4 ,the ,danites as they pass ,micah's house hear from their spies of the priest and the images that are in his charge4 ,do you know that there is in these houses an ephod and teraphim and a graven image and a molten image8 ,now therefore consider what ye have to do4 ,the hint is enough4 ,soon the court of the farmstead is invaded1 the images are brought out and the ,levite ,jonathan1 tempted by the offer of being made priest to a clan1 is fain to accompany the marauders4 ,here is confusion on confusion4 ,the ,danites are thieves1 brigands1 and yet they are pious2 so pious that they steal images to assist them in worship4 ,the ,levite agrees to the theft and accepts the offer of priesthood under them4 ,he will be the minister of a set of thieves to forward their evil designs1 and they knowing him to be no better than themselves expect that his sacrifices and prayers will do them good4 ,it is surely a capital instance of perverted religious ideas4 ,as we have said1 these circumstances are no doubt recounted in order to show how dangerous it was to separate from the pure order of worship at the sanctuary4 ,in after times this lesson was needed1 especially when the first king of the northern tribes set his golden calves the one at ,bethel1 the other at ,dan4 ,was ,israel to separate from ,judah in religion as well as in government8 ,let there be a backward look to the beginning of schism in those extraordinary doings of the ,danites4 ,it was in the city founded by the six hundred that one of ,jeroboam's temples was built4 ,could any blessing rest upon a shrine and upon devotions which had such an origin1 such an history8 ,may we find a parallel now8 ,is there a constituted religious authority with which soundness of belief and acceptable worship are so bound up that to renounce the authority is to be in the way of confusion and error1 schism and eternal loss8 ,the ,romanist says so4 ,those who speak for the ,papal church never cease to cry to the world that within their communion alone are truth and safety to be found4 ,renounce1 they say1 the apostolic and divine authority which we conserve and all is gone4 ,is there anarchy in a country8 ,are the forces that make for political disruption and national decay showing themselves in many lands8 ,are monarchies overthrown8 ,are the people lawless and wretched8 ,it all comes of giving up the ,catholic order and creed4 ,return to the one fold under the one ,shepherd if you would find prosperity4 ,and there are others who repeat the same injunction1 not indeed denying that there may be saving faith apart from their ritual1 but insisting still that it is an error and a sin to seek ,god elsewhere than at the accredited shrine4 ,with ,jewish ordinances we ,christians have nothing to do when we are judging as to religious order and worship now4 ,there is no central shrine1 no exclusive human authority4 ,where ,christ is1 there is the temple2 where ,he speaks1 the individual conscience must respond4 ,the work of salvation is ,his alone1 and the humblest believer is ,his consecrated priest4 ,when our ,lord said1 ,the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the ,father in spirit and in truth2 and again1 ,where two or three are gathered together in ,my name there am ,i in the midst of them2 when ,he as the ,son of ,god held out ,his hands directly to every sinner needing pardon and every seeker after truth1 when ,he offered the one sacrifice upon the cross by which a living way is opened into the holiest place1 ,he broke down the walls of partition and with the responsibility declared the freedom of the soul4 ,and here we reach the point to which our narrative applies as an illustration4 ,micah and his household worshipping the images of silver1 the ,levite officiating at the altar1 seeking counsel of ,jehovah by ephod and teraphim1 the ,danites who steal the gods1 carry off the priest and set up a new worship in the city they build--all these represent to us types and stages of what is really schism pitiful and disastrous--that is1 separation from the truth of things and from the sacred realities of divine faith4 ,selfish untruth and infidelity are schism1 the wilderness and outlawry of the soul4 #a4 ,micah and his household1 with their chapel of images1 their ephod and teraphim represent those who fall into the superstition that religion is good as insuring temporal success and prosperity1 that ,god will see to the worldly comfort of those who pay respect to ,him4 ,even among ,christians this is a very common and very debasing superstition4 ,the sacraments are often observed as signs of a covenant which secures for men divine favour through social arrangements and human law4 ,the spiritual nature and power of religion are not denied1 but they are uncomprehended4 ,the national custom and the worldly hope have to do with the observance of devout forms rather than any movement of the soul heavenward4 ,a church may in this way become like ,micah's household1 and prayer may mean seeking good terms with ,him who can fill the land with plenty or send famine and cleanness of teeth4 ,unhappily many worthy and most devout persons still hold the creed of an early and ignorant time4 ,the secret of nature and providence is hid from them4 ,the severities of life seem to them to be charged with anger1 and the valleys of human reprobation appear darkened by the curse of ,god4 ,instead of finding in pain and loss a marvellous divine discipline they perceive only the penalty of sin1 a sign of ,god's aversion not of ,his ,fatherly grace4 ,it is a sad1 a terrible blindness of soul4 ,we can but note it here and pass on1 for there are other applications of the old story4 #b4 ,the ,levite represents an unworthy worldly ministry4 ,with sadness must confession be made that there are in every church pastors unspiritual1 worldlings in heart whose desire is mainly for superiority of rank or of wealth1 who have no vision of ,christ's cross and battle except as objective and historical4 ,here1 most happily1 the cases of complete worldliness are rare4 ,it is rather a tendency we observe than a developed and acknowledged state of things4 ,very few of those in the ranks of the ,christian ministry are entirely concerned with the respect paid to them in society and the number of shekels to be got in a year4 ,that he keeps pace with the crowd instead of going before it is perhaps the hardest thing that can be said of the worldly pastor4 ,he is humane1 active1 intelligent2 but it is for the church as a great institution1 or the church as his temporal hope and stay4 ,so his ministry becomes at the best a matter of serving tables and providing alms--we shall not say amusement4 ,here indeed is schism2 for what is farther from the truth of things1 what is farther from ,christ8 #c4 ,once more we have with us to-day1 very much with us1 certain ,danites of science1 politics and the press who1 if they could1 would take away our ,god and our ,bible1 our ,eternal ,father and spiritual hope1 not from a desire to possess but because they hate to see us believing1 hate to see any weight of silver given to religious uses4 ,not a few of these are marching as they think triumphantly to commanding and opulent positions whence they will rule the thought of the world4 ,and on the way1 even while they deride and detest the supernatural1 they will have the priest go with them4 ,they care nothing for what he says2 to listen to the voice of a spiritual teacher is an absurdity of which they would not be guilty2 for to their own vague prophesying all mankind is to give heed1 and their interpretations of human life are to be received as the bible of the age4 ,of the same order is the socialist who would make use of a faith he intends to destroy and a priesthood whose claim is offensive to him on his way to what he calls the organization of society4 ,in his view the uses of ,christianity and the ,bible are temporal and earthly4 ,he will not have ,christ the ,redeemer of the soul1 yet he attempts to conjure with ,christ's words and appropriate the power of ,his name4 ,the audacity of these would-be robbers is matched only by their ignorance of the needs and ends of human life4 ,we might here refer to the injustice practised by one and another band of our modern ,israel who do not scruple to take from obscure and weak households of faith the sacraments and ,christian ministry1 the marks and rights of brotherhood4 ,we can well believe that those who do this have never looked at their action from the other side1 and may not have the least idea of the soreness they leave in the hearts of humble and sincere believers4 ,in fine1 the ,danites with the images of ,micah went their way and he and his neighbours had to suffer the loss and make the best of their empty chapel where no oracle thenceforth spoke to them4 ,it is no parable1 but a very real example of the loss that comes to all who have trusted in forms and symbols1 the outward signs instead of the living power of religion4 ,while we repel the arrogance that takes from faith its symbolic props and stays we must not let ourselves deny that the very rudeness of an enemy may be an excellent discipline for the ,christian4 ,agnosticism and science and other ,danite companies sweep with them a good deal that is dear to the religious mind and may leave it very distressed and anxious--the chapel empty1 the oracle as it may appear lost for ever4 ,with the symbol the authority1 the hope1 the power seem to be lost irrecoverably4 ,what now has faith to rest upon8 ,but the modern spirit with its resolution to sweep away every unfact and mere form is no destroyer4 ,rather does it drive the ,christian to a science1 a virtue far beyond its own4 ,it forces we may say on faith that severe truthfulness and intellectual courage which are the proper qualities of ,christianity1 the necessary counterpart of its trust and love and grace4 ,in short1 when enemies have carried on the poor teraphim and fetishes which are their proper capture they have but compelled religion to be itself1 compelled it to find its spiritual ,god1 its eternal creed and to understand its ,bible4 ,this1 though done with evil intent1 is surely no cruelty1 no outrage4 ,shall a man or a church that has been so roused and thrown back on reality sit wailing in the empty chapel for the images of silver and the deliverances of the hollow ephod8 ,everything remains1 the soul and the spiritual world1 the law of ,god1 the redemption of ,christ1 the ,spirit of eternal life4 ,,xxv4 ,,from ,,justice ,,to ,,wild ,,revenge4 ,,judges xix4-xxi4 ,these last chapters describe a general and vehement outburst of moral indignation throughout ,israel1 recorded for various reasons4 ,a vile thing is done in one of the towns of ,benjamin and the fact is published in all the tribes4 ,the doers of it are defended by their clan and fearful punishment is wrought upon them1 not without suffering to the entire people4 ,like the incidents narrated in the chapters immediately preceding1 these must have occurred at an early stage in the period of the judges1 and they afford another illustration of the peril of imperfect government1 the need for a vigorous administration of justice over the land4 ,the crime and the volcanic vengeance belong to a time when there was no king in ,israel and1 despite occasional appeals to the oracle1 every man did that which was right in his own eyes4 ,in this we have one clue to the purpose of the history4 ,the crime of ,gibeah brought under our notice here connects itself with that of ,sodom and represents a phase of immorality which1 indigenous to ,canaan1 mixed its putrid current with ,hebrew life4 ,there are traces of the same horrible impurity in the ,judah of ,rehoboam and ,asa2 and in the story of ,josiah's reign we are horrified to read of houses of ,sodomites that were in the house of the ,lord1 where the women wove hangings for the ,asherah4 ,with such lurid historical light on the subject we can easily understand the revival of this warning lesson from the past of ,israel and the fulness of detail with which the incidents are recorded4 ,a crime originally that of the off-scourings of ,gibeah became practically the sin of a whole tribe1 and the war that ensued sets in a clear light the zeal for domestic purity which was a feature in every religious revival and1 at length1 in the life of the ,hebrew people4 ,it may be asked how1 while polygamy was practised among the ,israelites1 the sin of ,gibeah could rouse such indignation and awaken the signal vengeance of the united tribes4 ,the answer is to be found partly in the singular and dreadful device which the indignant husband used in making the deed known4 ,the ghastly symbols of outrage told the tale in a way that was fitted to stir the blood of the whole country4 ,everywhere the hideous thing was made vivid and a sense of utmost atrocity was kindled as the dissevered members were borne from town to town4 ,it is easy to see that womanhood must have been stirred to the fieriest indignation1 and manhood was bound to follow4 ,what woman could be safe in ,gibeah where such things were done8 ,and was ,gibeah to go unpunished8 ,if so1 every ,hebrew city might become the haunt of miscreants4 ,further there is the fact that the woman so foully murdered1 though a concubine1 was the concubine of a ,levite4 ,the measure of sacredness with which the ,levites were invested gave to this crime1 frightful enough in any view1 the colour of sacrilege4 ,how degenerate were the people of ,gibeah when a servant of the altar could be treated with such foul indignity and driven to so extraordinary an appeal for justice8 ,there could be no blessing on the tribes if they allowed the doers or condoners of this thing to go unpunished4 ,every ,levite throughout the land must have taken up the cry4 ,from ,bethel and other sanctuaries the call for vengeance would spread and echo till the nation was roused4 ,thus1 in part at least1 we can explain the vehemence of feeling which drew together the whole fighting force of the tribes4 ,the doubt will yet remain whether there could have been so much purity of life or respect for purity as to sustain the public indignation4 ,some may say1 ,is there not here a sufficient reason for questioning the veracity of the narrative8 ,first1 however1 let it be remembered that often where morals are far from reaching the level of pure monogamic life distinctions between right and wrong are sharply drawn4 ,acquaintance with phases of modern life that are most painful to the mind sensitively pure reveals a fixed code which none may infringe without bringing upon themselves reprobation1 perhaps more vehement than in a higher social grade visits the breach of a higher law4 ,it is the fact that concubinage has its unwritten acknowledgment and protecting customs4 ,there is marriage that is only a name2 there is concubinage that gives the woman more rights than one who is married4 ,against the immorality and the gross evils of cohabitation is to be set this unwritten law4 ,and arguing from popular feeling in our great cities we reach the conclusion that in ancient ,israel where concubinage prevailed there was a wide and keen feeling as to the rights of concubines and the necessity of upholding them4 ,many women must have been in this relation1 below those who could count themselves legally married1 and all the more that the concubine occupied a place inferior to that of the lawful wife would popular opinion take up her cause and demand the punishment of those who did her wrong4 ,and here we are led to a point which demands clear statement and recognition4 ,it has been too readily supposed that polygamy is always a result of moral decline and indicates a low state of domestic purity4 ,it may1 in truth1 be a rude step of progress4 ,has it been sufficiently noted that in those countries in which the name of the mother not of the father descended to the children the reason may be found in universal or almost universal unchastity8 ,in ,egypt at one time the law gave to women1 especially to mothers1 peculiar rights2 but to praise ,egyptian civilization for this reason and hold up its treatment of women as an example to the nineteenth century is an extraordinary venture4 ,the ,israelites1 however lax1 were doubtless in advance of the society of ,thebes4 ,among the ,canaanites the moral degradation of women1 whatever freedom may have gone with it1 was so terrible that the ,hebrew with his two or three wives and concubines1 but with a morality otherwise severe1 must have represented a new and holier social order as well as a new and holier religion4 ,it is therefore not incredible but appears simply in accordance with the instincts and customs proper to the ,hebrew people that the sin of ,gibeah should provoke overwhelming indignation4 ,there is no pretence of purity1 no hypocritical anger4 ,the feeling is sound and real4 ,perhaps in no other matter of a moral kind would there have been such intense and unanimous exasperation4 ,a point of justice or of belief would not have so moved the tribes4 ,the better self of ,israel appears asserting its claim and power4 ,and the miscreants of ,gibeah representing the lower self1 verily an unclean spirit1 are detested and denounced on every hand4 ,the time was that of fresh feeling1 unwarped by those customs which in the guise of civilisation and refinement afterwards corrupted the nation4 ,and we may see the prophetic or hortatory use of the narrative for an after age in which doings as vile as those at ,gibeah were sanctioned by the court and protected even by religious leaders4 ,it would be hoped by the sacred historian that this tale of the fierce indignation of the tribes might rouse afresh the same moral feeling4 ,he would fain stir a careless people and their priests by the exhibition of this tumultuous vengeance4 ,nor can we say that the necessity for the impressive lesson has ceased4 ,in the heart of our large cities vices as vile as those of ,gibeah are heard muttering in the nightfall1 life as abandoned lurks and festers creating a social gangrene4 ,recognise1 then1 in these chapters a truth for all time boldly drawn out--the great truth as to moral reform and national purity4 ,law will not cure moral evils2 a statute book the purest and noblest will not save4 ,those who by the impulse of the ,spirit gathered the various traditions of ,israel's life knew well that on a living conscience in men everything depended1 and they at least indicate the further truth which many of ourselves have not grasped1 that the early and rude workings of conscience1 producing stormy and terrible results1 are a necessary stage of development4 ,as there must be energy before there can be noble energy1 so there must be moral vigour1 it may be rude1 violent1 ignorant1 a stream rushing out of barbarian hills1 sweeping with most appalling vehemence1 before there can be spiritual life patient calm and holy4 ,law is a product not a cause2 it is not the code we make that will preserve us but the ,god-given conscience that informs the code and ever goes before it a pillar of fire1 at times flashing vivid lightning4 ,even ,christian law cannot save a people if it be merely a series of injunctions4 ,nothing will do but the mind of ,christ in every man and woman continually inspiring and directing life4 ,the reformer who thinks that a statute or regulation will end some sin or evil custom is in sad error4 ,say the decree he contends for is enacted2 but have the consciences of those against whom it is made been quickened8 ,if not1 the law merely expresses a popular mood and the life of the whole community will not be permanently raised in tone4 ,the church finds here a perpetual mission of influence4 ,her doctrine is but half her message4 ,from the doctrine as from an eternal fount must go life-giving moral heat in every range1 and the ,spirit is ever with her to make the word like a fire4 ,her duty is wide as righteousness1 great as man's destiny2 it is never ended1 for each generation comes in a new hour with new needs4 ,the church1 say some1 is finishing its work2 it is doomed to be one of the broken moulds of life4 ,but the church that is the instructor of conscience and kindles the flame of righteousness has a mission to the ages4 ,we are far yet from that day of the ,lord when all the people shall be prophets2 and until then how can the world live without the church8 ,it would be a body without a soul4 ,conscience the oracle of life1 conscience working badly rather than held in chains of mere rule without spontaneity and inspiration1 moral energy widespread personal and keen1 however rude--here is one of the notes of the sacred writer2 and another note1 no less distinct1 is the assertion of moral intolerance4 ,it has not occurred to this prophetic annalist that endurance of evil has any curative power4 ,he is a ,hebrew1 full of indignation against the vile and false1 and he demands a heat of moral force in his people4 ,foul things are done at the court and even in the temple2 there is a depraving indifference to purity1 a loose notion 7very similar to the idea of our day71 that all the sides of life should have free play and that the heathen had much to teach ,israel4 ,the whole of the narrative before us is infused with a righteous protest against evil1 a holy plea for intolerance of sin4 ,will men refuse instruction and persist in making themselves one with bestiality and outrage8 ,then judgment must deal with them on the ground they have chosen to occupy1 and until they repent the conscience of the race must repudiate them together with their sin4 ,along with a keenly burning conscience there goes this necessity of moral intolerance4 ,charity is good1 but not always in place2 and brotherhood itself demands at times strong uncompromising judgment of the evil-doer4 ,how else among men of weak wills and wavering hearts can righteousness vindicate and enforce itself as the eternal reality of life8 ,compassion is strong only when it is linked to unfaltering declarations2 mercy is divine only when it turns a front of mail to wickedness and flashes lightning at proud wrong4 ,any other kind of charity is but a new offence--the sinner pardoning sin4 ,now the people of ,gibeah were not all vile4 ,the wretches whose crime called for judgment were but the rabble of the town4 ,and we can see that the tribes when they gathered in indignation were made serious by the thought that the righteous might be punished with the wicked4 ,we are told that they went up to the sanctuary and asked counsel of the ,lord whether they should attack the convicted city4 ,there was a full muster of the fighting men1 their blood at fever heat1 yet they would not advance without an oracle4 ,it was an appeal to heavenly justice1 and demands notice as a striking feature of the whole terrible series of events4 ,for an hour there is silence in the camp till a higher voice shall speak4 ,but what is the issue8 ,the oracle decrees an immediate attack on ,gibeah in the face of all ,benjamin which has shown the temper of heathenism by refusing to give up the criminals4 ,once and again there is trial of battle which ends in defeat of the allied tribes4 ,the wrong triumphs2 the people have to return humbled and weeping to the ,sacred ,presence and sit fasting and disconsolate before the ,lord4 ,not without the suffering of the entire community is a great evil to be purged from a land4 ,it is easy to execute a murderer1 to imprison a felon4 ,but the spirit of the murderer1 of the felon1 is widely diffused1 and that has to be cast out4 ,in the great moral struggle year after year the better have not only the openly vile but all who are tainted1 all who are weak in soul1 loose in habit1 secretly sympathetic with the vile1 arrayed against them4 ,there is a sacrifice of the good before the evil are overcome4 ,in vicarious suffering many must pay the penalty of crimes not their own ere the wide-reaching wickedness can be seen in its demonic power and struck down as the cruel enemy of the people4 ,when an assault is made on some vile custom the sardonic laugh is heard of those who find their profit and their pleasure in it4 ,they feel their power4 ,they know the wide sympathy with them spread secretly through the land4 ,once and again the feeble attempt of the good is repelled4 ,with sad hearts1 with impoverished means1 those who led the crusade retire baffled and weary4 ,has their method been unintelligent8 ,there very possibly lies the cause of its failure4 ,or1 perhaps1 it has been1 though nominally inspired by an oracle1 all too human1 weak through human pride4 ,not till they gain with new and deeper devotion to the glory of ,god1 with more humility and faith1 a clearer view of the battle-ground and a better ordering of the war shall defeat be changed into victory4 ,and may it not be that the assault on moral evils of our day1 in which multitudes are professedly engaged1 in which also many have spent substance and life1 shall fail till there is a true humiliation of the armies of ,god before ,him1 a new consecration to higher and more spiritual ends8 ,human virtue has ever to be jealous of itself1 the reformer may so easily become a ,pharisee4 ,the tide turned and there came another danger1 that which waits on ebullitions of popular feeling4 ,a crowd roused to anger is hard to control1 and the tribes having once tasted vengeance did not cease till ,benjamin was almost exterminated4 ,the slaughter extended not only to the fighting men1 but to women and children4 ,the six hundred who fled to the rock-fort of ,rimmon appear as the only survivors of the clan4 ,justice overshot its mark and for one evil made another4 ,those who had most fiercely used the sword viewed the result with horror and amazement1 for a tribe was lacking in ,israel4 ,nor was this the end of slaughter4 ,next for the sake of ,benjamin the sword was drawn and the men of ,jabesh-gilead were butchered4 ,it has to be noticed that the oracle is not made responsible for this horrible process of evil4 ,the people came of their own accord to the decision which annihilated ,jabesh-gilead4 ,but they gave it a pious colour2 religion and cruelty went together1 sacrifices to ,jehovah and this frightful outbreak of demonism4 ,it is one of the dark chapters of human history4 ,for the sake of an oath and an idea death was dealt remorselessly4 ,no voice suggested that the people of ,jabesh may have been more cautious than the rest1 not less faithful to the law of ,god4 ,the others were resolved to appear to themselves to have been right in almost annihilating ,benjamin2 and the town which had not joined in the work of destruction must be punished4 ,the warning conveyed here is intensely keen4 ,it is that men1 made doubtful by the issue of their actions whether they have done wisely1 may fly to the resolution to justify themselves and may do so even at the expense of justice2 that a nation may pass from the right way to the wrong and then1 having sunk to extraordinary baseness and malignity1 may turn writhing and self-condemned to add cruelty to cruelty in the attempt to still the upbraidings of conscience4 ,it is that men in the heat of passion which began with resentment against evil may strike at those who have not joined in their errors as well as those who truly deserve reprobation4 ,we stand1 nations and individuals1 in constant danger of dreadful extremes1 a kind of insanity hurrying us on when the blood is heated by strong emotion4 ,blindly attempting to do right we do evil1 and again1 having done the evil we blindly strive to remedy it by doing more4 ,in times of moral darkness and chaotic social conditions1 when men are guided by a few rude principles1 things are done that afterwards appal themselves1 and yet may become an example for future outbreaks4 ,during the fury of their ,revolution the ,french people1 with some watchwords of the true ring as liberty1 fraternity1 turned hither and thither1 now in terror1 now panting after dimly seen justice or hope1 and it was always from blood to blood4 ,we understand the juncture in ancient ,israel and realize the excitement and the rage of a self-jealous people when we read the modern tales of surging ferocity in which men appear now hounding the shouting crowd to vengeance then shuddering on the scaffold4 ,in private life the story has an application against wild and violent methods of self-vindication4 ,many a man1 hurried on by a just anger against one who has done him wrong1 sees to his horror after a sharp blow is struck that he has broken a life and thrown a brother bleeding to the dust4 ,one wrong thing has been done perhaps more in haste than vileness of purpose1 and retribution1 hasty1 ill-considered1 leaves the moral question tenfold more confused4 ,when all is reckoned we find it impossible to say where the right is1 where the wrong4 ,passing to the final expedient adopted by the chiefs of ,israel to rectify their error--the rape of the women at ,shiloh--we see only to how pitiful a pass moral blundering brings those who fall into it3 other moral teaching there is none4 ,we might at first be disposed to say that there was extraordinary want of reverence for religious order and engagements when the men of ,benjamin were invited to make a sacred festival the occasion of taking what the other tribes had solemnly vowed not to give4 ,but the festival at ,shiloh must have been far more of a merry-making than of a sacred assembly4 ,it needs to be recognised that many gatherings even in honour of ,jehovah were mainly1 like those of ,canaanite worship1 for hilarity and feasting4 ,there was probably no great incongruity between the occasion and the plot4 ,but the scenes certainly change in the course of this narrative with extraordinary swiftness4 ,fierce indignation is followed by pity1 weeping for defeat by tears for too complete a victory4 ,horrible bloodshed wastes the cities and in a month there is dancing in the plain of ,shiloh not ten miles from the field of battle4 ,chaotic indeed are the morality and the history2 but it is the disorder of social life in its early stages1 with the vehemence and tenderness1 the ferocity and laughter of a nation's youth4 ,and1 all along1 the ,book of ,judges bears the stamp of veracity as a series of records because these very features are to be seen--this tumult1 this undisciplined vehemence in feeling and act4 ,were we told here of decorous solemn progress at slow march1 every army going forth with some stereotyped invocation of the ,lord of ,hosts1 every leader a man of conventional piety supported by a blameless priesthood and orderly sacrifices1 we should have had no evidence of truth4 ,the traditions preserved here1 whoever collected them1 are singularly free from that idyllic colour which an imaginative writer would have endeavoured to give4 ,at the last1 accordingly1 the book we have been reading stands a real piece of history1 proving itself over every kind of suspicion a true record of a people chosen and guided to a destiny greater than any other race of man has known4 ,a people understanding its call and responding with eagerness at every point8 ,nay4 ,the world is in the heart of ,israel as of every other nation4 ,the carnal attracts1 and malignant cries overbear the divine still voice2 the air of ,canaan breathes in every page1 and we need to recollect that we are viewing the turbulent upper-waters of the nation and the faith4 ,but the working of ,god is plain2 the divine thoughts we believed ,israel to have in trust for the world are truly with it from the first1 though darkened by altars of ,baal and of ,ashtoreth4 ,the ,word and ,covenant of ,jehovah are vital facts of the supernatural which surrounds that poor struggling erring ,hebrew flock4 ,theocracy is a divine fact in a larger sense than has ever been attached to the word4 ,inspiration too is no dream1 for the history is charged with intimations of the spiritual order4 ,the light of the unrealized end flashes on spear and altar1 and in the frequent roll of the storm the voice of the ,eternal is heard declaring righteousness and truth4 ,no story this to praise a dynasty or magnify a conquering nation or support a priesthood4 ,nothing so faithful1 so true to heaven and to human nature could be done from that motive4 ,we have here an imperishable chapter in the ,book of ,god4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,ruth4 ,i4 ,,naomi',s ,,burden4 ,,ruth i4 #a-ac4 ,leaving the ,book of ,judges and opening the story of ,ruth we pass from vehement out-door life1 from tempest and trouble into quiet domestic scenes4 ,after an exhibition of the greater movements of a people we are brought1 as it were1 to a cottage interior in the soft light of an autumn evening1 to obscure lives passing through the cycles of loss and comfort1 affection and sorrow4 ,we have seen the ebb and flow of a nation's fidelity and fortune1 a few leaders appearing clearly on the stage and behind them a multitude indefinite1 indiscriminate1 the thousands who form the ranks of battle and die on the field1 who sway together from ,jehovah to ,baal and back to ,jehovah again4 ,what the ,hebrews were at home1 how they lived in the villages of ,judah or on the slopes of ,tabor the narrative has not paused to speak of with detail4 ,now there is leisure after the strife and the historian can describe old customs and family events1 can show us the toiling flockmaster1 the busy reapers1 the women with their cares and uncertainties1 the love and labour of simple life4 ,thunderclouds of sin and judgment have rolled over the scene2 but they have cleared away and we see human nature in examples that become familiar to us1 no longer in weird shadow or vivid lightning flash1 but as we commonly know it1 homely1 erring1 enduring1 imperfect1 not unblest4 ,bethlehem is the scene1 quiet and lonely on its high ridge overlooking the ,judaean wilderness4 ,the little city never had much part in the eager life of the ,hebrew people1 yet age after age some event notable in history1 some death or birth or some prophetic word drew the eyes of ,israel to it in affection or in hope2 and to us the ,saviour's birth there has so distinguished it as one of the most sacred spots on earth that each incident in the fields or at the gate appears charged with predictive meaning1 each reference in psalm or prophecy has tender significance4 ,we see the company of ,jacob on a journey through ,canaan halt by the way near ,ephrath1 which is ,bethlehem1 and from the tents there comes a sound of wailing4 ,the beloved ,rachel is dead4 ,yet she lives in a child new-born1 the mother's ,son of ,sorrow1 who becomes to the father ,benjamin1 ,son of the ,right ,hand4 ,the sword pierces a loving heart1 but hope springs out of pain and life out of death4 ,generations pass and in these fields of ,bethlehem we see ,ruth gleaning1 ,ruth the ,moabitess1 a stranger and foreigner who has sought refuge under the shadow of ,jehovah's wings2 and at yonder gate she is saved from want and widowhood1 finding in ,boaz her goel and menuchah1 her redeemer and rest4 ,later1 another birth1 this time within the walls1 the birth of one long despised by his brethren1 gives to ,israel a poet and a king1 the sweet singer of divine psalms1 the hero of a hundred fights4 ,and here again we see the three mighty men of ,david's troop breaking through the ,philistine host to fetch for their chief a draught from the cool spring by the gate4 ,prophecy1 too1 leaves ,israel looking to the city on the hill4 ,micah seems to grasp the secret of the ages when he exclaims1 ,but thou1 ,bethlehem ,ephrathah1 which art little to be among the thousands of ,judah1 out of thee shall one come forth unto ,me that is to be the ruler in ,israel2 whose goings forth are from of old1 from everlasting4 ,for centuries there is suspense1 and then over the quiet plain below the hill is heard the evangel3 ,be not afraid3 for1 behold1 ,i bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people3 for there is born to you this day in the city of ,david a ,saviour1 which is ,christ the ,lord4 ,remembering this glory of ,bethlehem we turn to the story of humble life there in the days when the judges ruled1 with deep interest in the people of the ancient city1 the race from which ,david sprang1 of which ,mary was born4 99 99 99 99 99 ,jephthah had scattered ,ammon behind the hills and the ,hebrews dwelt in comparative peace and security4 ,the sanctuary at ,shiloh was at length recognised as the centre of religious influence2 ,eli was in the beginning of his priesthood1 and orderly worship was maintained before the ark4 ,people could live quietly about ,bethlehem1 although ,samson1 fitfully acting the part of champion on the ,philistine border1 had his work in restraining the enemy from an advance4 ,yet all was not well in the homesteads of ,judah1 for drought is as terrible a foe to the flockmaster as the ,arab hordes1 and all the south lands were parched and unfruitful4 ,we are to follow the story of ,elimelech1 his wife ,naomi and their sons ,mahlon and ,chilion whose home at ,bethlehem is about to be broken up4 ,the sheep are dying in the bare glens1 the cattle in the fields4 ,from the soil usually so fertile little corn has been reaped4 ,elimelech1 seeing his possessions melt away1 has decided to leave ,judah for a time so as to save what remains to him till the famine is over1 and he chooses the nearest refuge1 the watered ,field of ,moab beyond the ,salt ,sea4 ,it was not far2 he could imagine himself returning soon to resume the accustomed life in the old home4 ,true ,hebrews1 these ,ephrathites were not seeking an opportunity to cast off pious duty and break with ,jehovah in leaving ,his land4 ,doubtless they hoped that ,god would bless their going1 prosper them in ,moab and bring them back in good time4 ,it was a trial to go1 but what else could they do1 life itself1 as they believed1 being at hazard8 ,with thoughts like these men often leave the land of their birth1 the scenes of early faith1 and oftener still without any pressure of necessity or any purpose of returning4 ,emigration appears to be forced upon many in these times1 the compulsion coming not from ,providence but from man and man's law4 ,it is also an outlet for the spirit of adventure which characterizes some races and has made them the heirs of continents4 ,against emigration it would be folly to speak1 but great is the responsibility of those by whose action or want of action it is forced upon others4 ,may it not be said that in every ,european land there are persons in power whose existence is like a famine to a whole country-side8 ,emigration is talked of glibly as if it were no loss but always gain1 as if to the mass of men the traditions and customs of their native land were mere rags well parted with4 ,but it is clear from innumerable examples that many lose what they never find again1 of honour1 seriousness and faith4 ,the last thing thought of by those who compel emigration and many who undertake it of their own accord is the moral result4 ,that which should be first considered is often not considered at all4 ,granting the advantages of going from a land that is over-populated to some fertile region as yet lying waste1 allowing what cannot be denied that material progress and personal freedom result from these movements of population1 yet the risk to individuals is just in proportion to the worldly attraction4 ,it is certain that in many regions to which the stream of migration is flowing the conditions of life are better and the natural environment purer than they are in the heart of large ,european cities4 ,but this does not satisfy the religious thinker4 ,modern colonies have indeed done marvels for political independence1 for education and comfort4 ,their success here is splendid4 ,but do they see the danger8 ,so much achieved in short time for the secular life tends to withdraw attention from the root of spiritual growth--simplicity and moral earnestness4 ,the pious emigrant has to ask himself whether his children will have the same thought for religion beyond the sea as they would have at home1 whether he himself is strong enough to maintain his testimony while he seeks his fortune4 ,we may believe that the ,bethlehemite if he made a mistake in removing to ,moab acted in good faith and did not lose his hope of the divine blessing4 ,probably he would have said that ,moab was just like home4 ,the people spoke a language similar to ,hebrew1 and like the tribes of ,israel they were partly husbandmen partly keepers of cattle4 ,in the ,field of ,moab1 that is the upland canton bounded by the ,arnon on the north1 the mountains on the east and the ,dead ,sea precipices on the west1 people lived very much as they did about ,bethlehem1 only more safely and in greater comfort4 ,but the worship was of ,chemosh1 and ,elimelech must soon have discovered how great a difference that made in thought and social custom and in the feeling of men toward himself and his family4 ,the rites of the god of ,moab included festivals in which humanity was disgraced4 ,standing apart from these he must have found his prosperity hindered1 for ,chemosh was lord in everything4 ,an alien who had come for his own advantage yet refused the national customs would be scorned at least if not persecuted4 ,life in ,moab became an exile1 the ,bethlehemites saw that hardship in their own land would have been as easy to endure as the disdain of the heathen and constant temptations to vile conformity4 ,the family had a hard struggle1 not holding their own and yet ashamed to return to ,judah4 ,already we have a picture of wayworn human lives tried on one side by the rigour of nature1 on the other by unsympathetic fellow-creatures1 and the picture becomes more pathetic as new touches are added to it4 ,elimelech died2 the young men married women of ,moab2 and in ten years only ,naomi was left1 a widow with her widowed daughters-in-law4 ,the narrative adds shadow to shadow4 ,the ,hebrew woman in her bereavement1 with the care of two lads who were somewhat indifferent to the religion she cherished1 touches our sympathies4 ,we feel for her when she has to consent to the marriage of her sons with heathen women1 for it seems to close all hope of return to her own land and1 sore as this trial is1 there is a deeper trouble4 ,she is left childless in the country of exile4 ,yet all is not shadow4 ,life never is entirely dark unless with those who have ceased to trust in ,god and care for man4 ,while we have compassion on ,naomi we must also admire her4 ,an ,israelite among heathen she keeps her ,hebrew ways1 not in bitterness but in gentle fidelity4 ,loving her native place more warmly than ever she so speaks of it and praises it as to make her daughters-in-law think of settling there with her4 ,the influence of her religion is upon them both1 and one at least is inspired with faith and tenderness equal to her own4 ,naomi has her compensations1 we see4 ,instead of proving a trouble to her as she feared1 the foreign women in her house have become her friends4 ,she finds occupation and reward in teaching them the religion of ,jehovah1 and thus1 so far as usefulness of the highest kind is concerned1 ,naomi is more blessed in ,moab than she might have been in ,bethlehem4 ,far better the service of others in spiritual things than a life of mere personal ease and comfort4 ,we count up our pleasures1 our possessions and gains and think that in these we have the evidence of the divine favour4 ,do we as often reckon the opportunities given us of helping our neighbours to believe in ,god1 of showing patience and fidelity1 of having a place among those who labour and wait for the eternal kingdom8 ,it is here that we ought to trace the gracious hand of ,god preparing our way1 opening for us the gates of life4 ,when shall we understand that circumstances which remove us from the experience of poverty and pain remove us also from precious means of spiritual service and profit8 ,to be in close personal touch with the poor1 the ignorant and burdened is to have simple every-day openings into the region of highest power and gladness4 ,we do something enduring1 something that engages and increases our best powers when we guide1 enlighten and comfort even a few souls and plant but a few flowers in some dull corner of the world4 ,naomi did not know how blest she had been in ,moab4 ,she said afterwards that she had gone out full and the ,lord had brought her home again empty4 ,she even imagined that ,jehovah had testified against her and cast her from ,him in rejection4 ,yet she had been finding the true power1 winning the true riches4 ,did she return empty when the convert ,ruth1 the devoted ,ruth went back with her8 ,her two sons taken away1 ,naomi felt no tie binding her to ,moab4 ,moreover in ,judah the fields were green again and life was prosperous4 ,she might hope to dispose of her land and realize something for her old age4 ,it seemed therefore her interest and duty to return to her own country2 and the next picture of the poem shows ,naomi and her daughters-in-law travelling along the northward highway towards the ford of ,jordan1 she on her way home1 they accompanying her4 ,the two young widows are almost decided when they leave the desolate dwelling in ,moab to go all the way to ,bethlehem4 ,naomi's account of the life there1 the purer faith and better customs attract them1 and they love her well4 ,but the matter is not settled2 on the bank of ,jordan the final choice will be made4 ,there are hours which bring a heavy burden of responsibility to those who advise and guide1 and such an hour came now to ,naomi4 ,it was in poverty she was returning to the home of her youth4 ,she could promise to her daughters-in-law no comfortable easy life there1 for1 as she well knew1 the enmity of ,hebrews against ,moabites was apt to be bitter and they might be scorned as aliens from ,jehovah4 ,so far as she was concerned nothing could have been more desirable than their company4 ,a woman in poverty and past middle life could not wish to separate herself from young and affectionate companions who would be a help to her in her old age4 ,to throw off the thought of personal comfort natural to one in her circumstances and look at things from an unselfish point of view was very difficult4 ,in reading her story let us remember how apt we are to colour advice half unconsciously with our own wishes1 our own seeming needs4 ,naomi's advantage lay in securing the companionship of ,ruth and ,orpah1 and religious considerations added their weight to her own desire4 ,her very regard and care for these young women seemed to urge as the highest service she could do them to draw them out of the paganism of ,moab and settle them in the country of ,jehovah4 ,so while she herself would find reward for her patient efforts these two would be rescued from the darkness1 bound in the bundle of life4 ,here1 perhaps1 was her strongest temptation2 and to some it may appear that it was her duty to use every argument to this end1 that she was bound as one who watched for the souls of ,ruth and ,orpah to set every fear1 every doubt aside and to persuade them that their salvation depended on going with her to ,bethlehem4 ,was this not her sacred opportunity1 her last opportunity of making sure that the teaching she had given them should have its fruit8 ,strange it may seem that the author of the ,book of ,ruth is not chiefly concerned with this aspect of the case1 that he does not blame ,naomi for failing to set spiritual considerations in the front4 ,the narrative indeed afterwards makes it clear that ,ruth chose the good part and prospered by choosing it1 but here the writer calmly states without any question the very temporal and secular reasons which ,naomi pressed on the two widows4 ,he seems to allow that home and country--though they were under the shadow of heathenism--home and country and worldly prospects were rightly taken account of even as compared with a place in ,hebrew life and faith4 ,but the underlying fact is a social pressure clearly before the ,oriental mind4 ,the customs of the time were overmastering1 and women had no resource but to submit to them4 ,naomi accepts the facts and ordinances of the age2 the inspired author has nothing to say against her4 ,the ,lord grant you that ye may find rest1 each of you in the house of her husband4 ,that the two young widows should return each to her mother's house and marry again in ,moab is ,naomi's urgent advice to them4 ,the times were rude and wild4 ,a woman could be safe and respected only under the protection of a husband4 ,not only was there the old-world contempt for unmarried women1 but1 we may say1 they were an impossibility2 there was no place for them in the social life4 ,people did not see how there could be a home without some man at the head of it1 the house-band in whom all family arrangements centred4 ,it had not been strange that in ,moab ,hebrew men should marry women of the land2 but was it likely ,ruth and ,orpah would find favour at ,bethlehem8 ,their speech and manners would be despised and dislike once incurred prove hard to overcome4 ,besides1 they had no property to commend them4 ,evidently the two were very inexperienced4 ,they had little thought of the difficulties1 and ,naomi1 therefore1 had to speak very strongly4 ,in the grief of bereavement and the desire for a change of scene they had formed the hope of going where there were good men and women like the ,hebrews they knew1 and placing themselves under the protection of the gracious ,god of ,israel4 ,unless they did so life seemed practically at an end4 ,but ,naomi could not take upon herself the responsibility of letting them drift into a hazardous position1 and she forced a decision of their own in full view of the facts4 ,it was true kindness no less than wisdom4 ,the age had not dawned in which women could attempt to shape or dare to defy the customs of society1 nor was any advantage to be sought at the risk of moral compromise4 ,these things ,naomi understood1 though afterwards1 in extremity1 she made ,ruth venture unwisely to obtain a prize4 ,looking around us now we see multitudes of women for whom there appears to be no room1 no vocation4 ,up to a certain point1 while they were young1 they had no thought of failure4 ,then came a time when ,providence appointed a task2 there were parents to care for1 daily occupations in the house4 ,but calls for their service have ceased and they feel no responsibility sufficient to give interest and strength4 ,the world has moved on and the movement has done much for women1 yet all do not find themselves supplied with a task and a place4 ,around the occupied and the distinguished circles perpetually a crowd of the helpless1 the aimless1 the disappointed1 to whom life is a blank1 offering no path to a ford of ,jordan and a new future4 ,yet half the needful work is done for these when they are made to feel that among the possible ways they must choose one for themselves and follow it2 and all is done when they are shown that in the service of ,god1 which is the service also of mankind1 a task waits them fitted to engage their highest powers4 ,across into the region of religious faith and energy they may decide to pass1 there is room in it for every life4 ,disappointment will end when selfish thoughts are forgotten2 helplessness will cease when the heart is resolved to help4 ,even to the very poor and ignorant deliverance would come with a religious thought of life and the first step in personal duty4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,parting ,,of ,,the ,,ways4 ,,ruth i4 #ad-ai4 ,we journey along with others for a time1 enjoying their fellowship and sharing their hopes1 yet with thoughts and dreams of our own that must sooner or later send us on a separate path4 ,but decision is so difficult to many that they are glad of an excuse for self-surrender and are only too willing to be led by some authority1 deferring personal choice as long as possible4 ,let an ecclesiastic or a strong-minded companion lay down for them the law of right and wrong and point the path of duty and they will obey1 welcoming the relief from moral effort4 ,not seeing clearly1 not disciplined in judgment1 they crave external human guidance4 ,the teachers of submission find many disciples not because they speak truth but because they meet the indolence of the human will with a crutch instead of a stimulus2 they succeed by pampering weakness and making ignorance a virtue4 ,a time comes1 however1 when the method will not serve4 ,there are moments when the will must be exercised in choosing between one path and another1 advance and retreat2 and the alternative is too sharp to allow any escape4 ,if the person is to live at all as a human being he has to decide whether he will go on in such a company or turn back2 he has to declare what or who has the strongest hold upon his mind4 ,such an occasion came to ,ruth and ,orpah when they reached the border of ,moab4 ,to ,orpah the arguments of ,naomi were persuasive4 ,her mother lived in ,moab1 and to her mother's house she could return4 ,there the customs prevailed which from childhood she had followed4 ,she would have liked to go with ,naomi1 but her interest in the ,hebrew woman and the land and law of ,jehovah did not suffice to draw her forward4 ,orpah saw the future as ,naomi painted it1 not indeed very attractive if she returned to her native place1 but with far more uncertainty and possible humiliation if she crossed the dividing river4 ,she kissed ,naomi and ,ruth and took the southward road alone1 weeping as she went1 often turning for yet another sight of her friends1 passing at every step into an existence that could never be the old life simply taken up again1 but would be coloured in all its experience by what she had learned from ,naomi and that parting which was her own choice4 ,the others did not greatly blame her1 and we1 for our part1 may not reproach her4 ,it is unnecessary to suppose that in returning to her kinsfolk and settling down to the tasks that offered in her mother's house she was guilty of despising truth and love and renouncing the best4 ,we may reasonably imagine her henceforth bearing witness for a higher morality and affirming the goodness of the ,hebrew religion among her friends and acquaintances4 ,ruth goes where affection and duty lead her2 but for ,orpah too it may be claimed that in love and duty she goes back4 ,she is not one who says1 ,moab has done nothing for me2 ,moab has no claim upon me2 ,i am free to leave my country2 ,i am under no debt to my people4 ,we shall not take her as a type of selfishness1 worldliness or backsliding1 this ,moabite woman4 ,let us rather believe that she knew of those at home who needed the help she could give1 and that with the thought of least hazard to herself mingled one of the duty she owed to others4 ,and ,ruth3--memorable for ever is her decision1 charming for ever the words in which it is expressed4 ,behold1 said ,naomi1 thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people1 and unto her god3 return thou after thy sister-in-law4 ,but ,ruth replied1 ,intreat me not to leave thee1 and to return from following after thee3 for whither thou goest1 ,i will go2 and where thou lodgest1 ,i will lodge3 thy people shall be my people1 and thy ,god my ,god3 where thou diest1 will ,i die1 and there will ,i be buried3 the ,lord do so to me1 and more also1 if aught but death part thee and me4 ,like ,david's lament over ,jonathan these words have sunk deep into the human heart4 ,as an expression of the tenderest and most faithful friendship they are unrivalled4 ,the simple dignity of the iteration in varying phrase till the climax is reached beyond which no promise could go1 the quiet fervour of the feeling1 the thought which seems to have almost a ,christian depth--all are beautiful1 pathetic1 noble4 ,from this moment a charm lingers about ,ruth and she becomes dearer to us than any woman of whom the ,hebrew records tell4 ,dignified and warm affection is the first characteristic of ,ruth and close beside it we find the strength of a firm conclusion as to duty4 ,it is good to be capable of clear resolve1 parting between this and that of opposing considerations and differing claims4 ,not to rush at decisions and act in mere wilfulness1 for wilfulness is the extreme of weakness1 but to judge soundly and on this side or that to say1 ,here ,i see the path for me to follow3 along this and no other ,i conclude to go4 ,unreason decides by taste1 by momentary feeling1 often out of mere spite or antipathy4 ,but the resolve of a wise thoughtful person1 even though it bring temporal disadvantage1 is a moral gain1 a step towards salvation4 ,it is the exercise of individuality1 of the soul4 ,one may act in error1 as perhaps ,elimelech and ,orpah acted1 yet the life be the stronger for the mistaken decision2 only there must be no repentance for having exercised the power of judgment and of choice4 ,women are particularly prone to go back on themselves in false repentance4 ,they did what they could not but think to be duty2 they carefully decided on a path in loyalty to conscience2 yet too often they will reproach themselves because what they desired and hoped has not come about4 ,we cannot imagine ,ruth in after years1 even though her lot had remained that of the poor gleaner and labourer1 returning upon her decision and weeping in secret as if the event had proved her high choice a foolish one4 ,her mind was too firm and clear for that4 ,yet this is what numbers of women are doing1 burdening their souls1 making that a crime in which they should rather practise themselves4 ,our decisions1 even when they are made with all the wisdom and information we can command in thorough sanity and sincerity1 may be1 often are very faulty2 and do we expect that ,providence will perpetually interfere to bring a perfect result out of the imperfect8 ,only in the perfect order of ,god1 through the perfect work of ,christ and the perfect operation of the ,holy ,spirit is the glorious consummation of human history and divine purpose to come4 ,as for us1 we are to learn of ,god in ,christ1 to judge and act our best2 thereafter1 leaving the result to ,providence1 never go back on that of which the ,spirit of the ,almighty made us capable in the hour of trial4 ,then welcome each rebuff ,that turns earth's smoothness rough1 ,each sting that bids nor sit nor stand but go6 ,be our joys three parts pain6 ,strive1 and hold cheap the strain2 ,learn1 nor account the pang2 dare1 never grudge the throe6#h #h ,browning3 ,rabbi ,ben ,ezra4 ,in religion there is no escape from personal decision2 no one can drift to salvation with companions or with a church4 ,in art1 in literature1 in ordinary morality it is possible to possess something without any special effort4 ,the atmosphere of cultured society1 for instance1 holds in solution the knowledge and taste which have been gained by a few and may pass in some measure to those who associate with them1 though personally these have studied and acquired very little4 ,any one who observes how a new book is talked of will see the process4 ,but the supreme nature of religion and its unique part in human development are seen here1 that it demands high and sustained personal effort1 the constant action of the will2 that indeed every spiritual gain must result from the vital activity of the individual mind choosing to enter and enter yet farther the kingdom of divine revelation and grace4 ,as it is expressed in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews3 ,we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end3 that ye be not slothful1 but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises4 ,the training in resoluteness1 therefore1 finds highest value and significance in view of the religious life4 ,those who live by habit and dependence in other matters are not prepared for the strenuous calling of faith1 and many a one is kept from the freedom and joy of ,christianity not because they are undesired1 not because the call of ,christ is unheeded1 but for want of the power of decision1 strength to go forward on a personal quest4 ,thousands are in the way of saying1 ,will you go to an evangelistic meeting8 ,then ,i will go4 ,will you take the ,sacrament8 ,then ,i will4 ,will you teach in the ,sunday-school8 ,then ,i will4 ,so far something is gained3 there is a half-decision4 ,but the spiritual life is sure at some point to demand more than this4 ,even ,naomi's advice must not deter ,ruth from taking the way to ,bethlehem4 ,like many women ,ruth was moved greatly by love4 ,was her love justified8 ,did it rightly govern her to the extent her words imply8 ,whither thou goest1 ,i will go3 thy people shall be my people3 where thou diest ,i will die1 and there will ,i be buried4 ,it is beautiful to see such love3 but how was it earned8 ,surely by years of patient faithful help2 not by a few cheap words and caresses1 a few facile promises2 not by beauty of face1 gaiety of temper4 ,the love that has nothing but these to found upon is not enough for a life-companionship4 ,but if there is honour1 clear sincerity of soul1 generosity of nature2 if there is brave devotion to duty1 there love can rest without fear1 reproach or hazard4 ,when these cast their light on your way1 love then1 love freely and strongly2 you are safe4 ,it is indeed called love where these are not--but only in ignorance and lightness3 the heart has been caught by a word1 ensnared by a look4 ,how pathetic are the errors into which we see our friends and neighbours fall1 errors that call for a life-long repentance because reason and serious purpose had nothing to do with the loving4 ,no law of ,god is written against human affection1 nor has ,he any jealousy of the devotion we show to worthy fellow-creatures2 but there are divine laws of love to restrain our weak fancy and uplift our emotions2 and if we disdain or cast aside these laws we must suffer however ardent and self-sacrificing affection may be4 ,egotistical wilfulness in serving some one who engages our admiration and passionate devotion is not properly speaking love4 ,it is rather an offence against that divine grace which bears the noble name4 ,of course we are not here speaking of ,christian charity towards our neighbours1 interest in them and care for their well-being1 which are always our duty and must not be limited4 ,the story we are following is one of an intimate and personal affection4 ,lastly and chiefly the answer of ,ruth implies a religious change--conversion4 ,she renounces ,chemosh and turns in faith and hope to the ,god of ,israel1 and this is the striking feature of her choice4 ,dimly seen1 the grace and righteousness of the ,most ,high touched her soul1 commanded her reverence1 drew her to follow one who was ,his servant and could recount the wonderful story of ,his people4 ,surely it is a supreme event in any life when this vision of the ,best allures the mind and engages the will1 even though knowledge of ,god be as yet very imperfect4 ,and the reliance of ,ruth upon the little she felt and knew of ,god1 her clear resolution to seek rest under ,his wings appear in striking contrast with the reluctance1 the unconcern1 the hard unfaith of many to-day4 ,how is it that they to whom the ,word speaks and the life is revealed1 whose portion is at every moment enriched by that ,word and that life are so blind to the grace that encompasses and deaf to the love that entreats8 ,again and again we see them on the banks of some ,jordan1 with the land of ,god clear in view1 with the promise of devotion trembling on their lips2 but they turn back to ,moab and ,chemosh1 to paganism1 unrest and despair4 ,ruth's life properly began when at ,naomi's side she passed through the waters1 the very waters of baptism to her4 ,there1 with the purple mountains of ,moab and the precipices of the ,dead ,sea shore behind1 she sent her last look to ,orpah and the past1 and saw before her the steep narrow ascent through the ,judaean hills4 ,with rising faith1 with growing love she moved to the fulfilment of womanhood in realizing the soul's highest power and privilege4 ,the upward path was hard to weary feet and all was not to be easy for ,ruth in the ,bethlehem of which she had dreamed2 but fully committed and pledged to the new life she went forward4 ,how much is missed when the choice to serve ,god is not unreservedly made1 and there is not that full consecration of which ,ruth's decision may be a type4 ,of this loss we see examples on every side4 ,to remain in the low ground by the river1 still within reach of some paganism that fascinates even after profession and baptism--this is the end of religious feeling with many4 ,where the narrow way of discipleship leads they will not adventure2 it is too bare1 confining and severe4 ,they will not believe that freedom for the human soul is found by that path alone2 they refuse to be bound and therefore never discover the inheritance of ,god's children to which they are called4 ,when ,he who alone can guide1 quicken1 redeem is accepted solemnly and finally as the ,lord of life1 then at last the weak and entangled spirit knows the beginning of liberty and strength4 ,sad is the reckoning in our time of those who refuse to pledge themselves to the ,saviour ,whose claim they do feel to be divine and urgent4 ,not yet may the preacher cease to speak of conversion as the necessity in every life4 ,rather because it is easy to be in touch with ,christianity at some point1 because gospel influences are widely diffused1 and church connection can be lightly held1 the personal pledge to ,christ must be insisted upon in the pulpit and kept in view as the end to which all the work of the church is directed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,life has many partings1 and we have all had our experience of some which without fault on either side separate those well fitted to serve and bless each other4 ,over matters of faith1 questions of political order and even social morality separations will occur4 ,there may be no lack of faithfulness on either side when at a certain point widely divergent views of duty are taken by two who have been friends4 ,one standing only a little apart from the other sees the same light reflected from a different facet of the crystal1 streaming out in a different direction4 ,as it would be altogether a mistake to say that ,orpah took the way of worldly selfishness1 ,ruth only going in the way of duty1 so it is entirely a mistake to accuse those who part with us on some question of faith or conduct and think of them as finally estranged4 ,a little more knowledge and we would see with them or they with us4 ,some day they and we shall reach the truth and agree in our conclusions4 ,separations there must be for a time1 for as the character leans to love or justice1 the mind to reasoning or emotion1 there is a difference in the vision of the good for which a man should strive4 ,and if it comes to this that the paths chosen by those who were once dear friends divide them to the end of earthly days1 they should retain the recollection not so much of the single point that separated1 as of the many on which there was agreement4 ,even though they have to fight on opposite sides it should be as those who were brothers once and shall be brothers again4 ,indeed1 are they not brothers still1 if they fight for the same ,master8 ,yet one difference between men reaches to the roots of life4 ,the company of those who keep the straight way and press on towards the light have the most sorrowful recollection of some partings4 ,they have had to leave comrades and brethren behind who despised the quest of holiness and immortality and had nothing but mockery for the ,friend and ,saviour of man4 ,the shadows of estrangement falling between those who are of ,christ's company are nothing compared with the dense cloud which divides them from men pledged to what is earthly and ignoble2 and so the reproach of sectarian division coming from irreligious persons needs not trouble those who have as ,christians an eternal brotherhood4 ,there are divisions sharp and dreadful1 not always at some river which clearly separates land from land4 ,they may be made in the street where parting seems temporary and casual4 ,they may be made in the very house of ,god4 ,while some members of a family are responding with joy to a divine appeal1 one may be resolutely turning from it to a base idolatry4 ,of three who went together to a place of prayer two may from that hour keep company in the heavenward journey1 while the third moves every day towards the shadow of self-chosen reprobation4 ,christ has spoken of tremendous separations which men make by their acceptance or rejection of ,him4 ,these shall go away into eternal punishment1 but the righteous into life eternal4 ,,iii4 ,,in ,,the ,,field ,,of ,,boaz4 ,,ruth i4 #ai-;ii4 #bc4 ,weary and footsore the two travellers reached ,bethlehem at length1 and all the city was moved about them4 ,though ten years had elapsed1 many yet remembered as if it had been yesterday the season of terrible famine and the departure of the emigrants4 ,now the women lingering at the well1 when they see the strangers approaching1 say as they look in the face of the elder one1 ,is this ,naomi8 ,what a change is here6 ,with husband and sons1 hoping for a new life across in ,moab1 she went away4 ,her return has about it no sign of success2 she comes on foot1 in the company of one who is evidently of an alien race1 and the two have all the marks of poverty4 ,the women who recognize the widow of ,elimelech are somewhat pitiful1 perhaps also a little scornful4 ,they had not left their native land nor doubted the promise of ,jehovah4 ,through the famine they had waited1 and now their position contrasts very favourably with hers4 ,surely ,naomi is far down in the world since she has made a companion of a woman of ,moab4 ,her poverty is against the wayfarer1 and to those who know not the story of her life that which shows her goodness and faithfulness appears a cause of reproach and reason of suspicion4 ,is it too harsh to interpret thus the question with which ,naomi is met8 ,we are only using a key which common experience of life supplies4 ,do people give sincere and hearty sympathy to those who went away full and return empty1 who were once in good standing and repute and come back years after to their old haunts impoverished and with strange associates8 ,are we not more ready to judge unfavourably in such a case than to exercise charity8 ,the trick of hasty interpretation is common because every one desires to be on good terms with himself1 and nothing is so soothing to vanity as the discovery of mistakes into which others have fallen4 ,all the brethren of the poor do hate him1 says one who knew the ,hebrews and human nature well2 how much more do his friends go far from him4 ,he pursueth them with words1 yet they are wanting to him4 ,naomi finds it so when she throws herself on the compassion of her old neighbours4 ,they are not uninterested1 they are not altogether unkind1 but they feel their superiority4 ,and ,naomi appears to accept the judgment they have formed4 ,very touching is the lament in which she takes her position as one whom ,god has rebuked1 whom it is no wonder1 therefore1 that old friends despise4 ,she almost makes excuse for those who look down upon her from the high ground of their imaginary virtue and wisdom4 ,indeed she has the same belief as they that poverty1 the loss of land1 bereavement and every kind of affliction are marks of ,god's displeasure4 ,for1 what does she say8 ,call me not ,naomi1 ,pleasant1 call me ,mara1 ,bitter1 for the ,almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me4444 ,the ,lord hath testified against me and the ,almighty hath afflicted me4 ,such was the ,hebrew thought1 the purpose of ,god in ,his dealings with men not being apprehended4 ,under the shadow of loss and sorrow it seemed that no heat of the ,divine ,presence could be felt4 ,to have a husband and children appeared to ,naomi evidence of ,god's favour2 to lose them was a proof that ,he had turned against her4 ,heavy as her losses had been the terrible thing was that they implied the displeasure of ,god4 ,it is perhaps difficult for us to realize even by an imaginative effort this condition of soul--the sense of banishment1 darkness1 outlawry which came to the ,hebrew whenever he fell into distress or penury4 ,and yet we ourselves retain the same standard of judgment in our common estimate of life2 we still interpret things by an ignorant unbelief which causes many worthy souls to bow in a humiliation ,christians should never feel4 ,do not the loneliness1 the poverty1 the testimony of ,christ teach us something altogether different8 ,can we still cherish the notion that prosperity is an evidence of worth and that the man who can found a family must be a favourite of the heavenly powers8 ,judge thus and the providence of ,god is a tangle1 a perplexing darkening problem which1 believe as you may1 must still overwhelm4 ,wealth has its conditions2 money comes through some one's cleverness in work and trading1 some one's inventiveness or thrift1 and these qualities are reputable4 ,but nothing is proved regarding the spiritual tone and nature of a life either by wealth or by the want of it4 ,and surely we have learned that loss of friends and loneliness are not to be reckoned the punishment of sin4 ,often enough we hear the warning that wealth and worldly position are not to be sought for themselves1 and yet1 side by side with this warning1 the implication that a high place and a prosperous life are proofs of divine blessing4 ,on the whole subject ,christian thought is far from clear1 and we have need to go anew to the ,master and inquire of ,him ,who had no place where to lay ,his head4 ,the ,hebrew belief in the prosperity of ,god's servants must fulfil itself in a larger better faith or the man of to-morrow will have no faith at all4 ,one who bewails the loss of wealth or friends is doing nothing that has spiritual meaning or value4 ,when he takes himself to task for that despondency he begins to touch the spiritual4 ,in ,bethlehem ,naomi found the half-ruined cottage still belonging to her1 and there she and ,ruth took up their abode4 ,but for a living what was to be done8 ,the answer came in the proposal of ,ruth to go into the fields where the barley harvest was proceeding and glean after the reapers4 ,by great diligence she might gather enough day by day for the bare sustenance that contents a ,syrian peasant1 and afterwards some other means of providing for herself and ,naomi might be found4 ,the work was not dignified4 ,she would have to appear among the waifs and wanderers of the country1 with women whose behaviour exposed them to the rude gibes of the labourers4 ,but whatever plan ,naomi vaguely entertained was hanging in abeyance1 and the circumstances of the women were urgent4 ,no kinsman came forward to help them4 ,loath as she was to expose ,ruth to the trials of the harvest-field1 ,naomi had to let her go4 ,so it was ,ruth who made the first move1 ,ruth the stranger who brought succour to the ,hebrew widow when her own people held aloof and she herself knew not how to act4 ,now among the farmers whose barley was falling before the sickle was the land-owner ,boaz1 a kinsman of ,elimelech1 a man of substance and social importance1 one of those who in the midst of their fruitful fields shine with bountiful good-humour and by their presence make their servants work heartily4 ,to ,ruth in after days it must have seemed a wonderful thing that her first timid expedition led her to a portion of ground belonging to this man4 ,from the moment he appears in the narrative we note in him a certain largeness of character4 ,it may be only the easy kindness of the prosperous man1 but it commends him to our good opinion4 ,those who have a smooth way through the world are bound to be especially kind and considerate in their bearing toward neighbours and dependants1 this at least they owe as an acknowledgment to the rest of the world1 and we are always pleased to find a rich man paying his debt so far4 ,there is a certain piety also in the greeting of ,boaz to his labourers1 a customary thing no doubt and good even in that sense1 but better when it carries1 as it seems to do here1 a personal and friendly message4 ,here is a man who will observe with strict eye everything that goes on in the field and will be quick to challenge any lazy reaper4 ,but he is not remote from those who serve him1 he and they meet on common ground of humanity and faith4 ,the great operations which some in these days think fit to carry on1 more for their own glory certainly than the good of their country or countrymen1 entirely preclude anything like friendship between the chief and the multitude of his subordinates4 ,it is impossible that a man who has a thousand under him should know and consider each1 and there would be too much pretence in saying1 ,god be with you1 on entering a yard or factory when otherwise no feeling is shown with which the name of ,god can be connected4 ,apart altogether from questions as to wealth and its use every employer has a responsibility for maintaining the healthy human activity of his people1 and nowhere is the immorality of the present system of huge concerns so evident as in the extinction of personal good will4 ,the workman of course may adjust himself to the state of matters1 but it will too often be by discrediting what he knows he cannot have and keeping up a critical resentful habit of mind against those who seem to treat him as a machine4 ,he may often be wrong in his judgment of an employer4 ,there may be less hardness of temper on the other side than there is on his own4 ,but1 the conditions being what they are1 one may say he is certain to be a severe critic4 ,we have unquestionably lost much and are in danger of losing more1 not in a financial sense1 which matters little1 but in the infinitely more important affairs of social sweetness and ,christian civilization4 ,boaz the farmer had not more in hand than he could attend to honestly1 and everything under his care was well ordered4 ,he had a foreman over the reapers1 and from him he required an account of the stranger whom he saw gleaning in the field4 ,there were to be no hangers-on of loose character where he exercised authority2 and in this we justify him4 ,we like to see a man keeping a firm hand when we are sure that he has a good heart and knows what he is doing4 ,such a one is bound within the range of his power to have all done rightly and honourably1 and ,boaz pleases us all the better that he makes close inquiry regarding the woman who seeks the poor gains of a common gleaner4 ,of course in a place like ,bethlehem people knew each other1 and ,boaz was probably acquainted with most whom he saw about2 at once1 therefore1 the new figure of the ,moabite woman attracted his attention4 ,who is she8 ,a kindly heart prompts the inquiry for the farmer knows that if he interests himself in this young woman he may be burdened with a new dependant4 ,it is the ,moabitish damsel that came back with ,naomi out of the country of ,moab4 ,she is the daughter-in-law of his old friend ,elimelech4 ,before the eyes of ,boaz one of the romances of life1 common and tragic too1 is unfolding itself4 ,often had ,boaz and ,elimelech held counsel with each other1 met at each other's houses1 talked together of their fields or of the state of the country4 ,but ,elimelech went away and lost all and died2 and two widows1 the wreck of the family1 had returned to ,bethlehem4 ,it was plain that these would be new claimants on his favour1 but unlike many well-to-do persons ,boaz does not wait for some urgent appeal2 he acts rather as one who is glad to do a kindness for old friendship's sake4 ,great was the surprise of the lonely gleaner when the rich man came to her side and gave her a word of comfortable greeting4 ,hearest thou not1 my daughter8 ,go not to glean in another field1 but abide here fast by my maidens4 ,nothing had been done to make ,ruth feel at home in ,bethlehem until ,boaz addressed her4 ,she had perhaps seen proud and scornful looks in the street and at the well1 and had to bear them meekly1 silently4 ,in the fields she may have looked for something of the kind and even feared that ,boaz would dismiss her4 ,a gentle person in such circumstances is exceedingly grateful for a very small kindness1 and it was not a slight favour that ,boaz did her4 ,but in making her acknowledgments ,ruth did not know what had prepared her way4 ,the truth was that she had met with a man of character who valued character1 and her faithfulness commended her4 ,it hath been fully showed me1 all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband4 ,the best point in ,boaz is that he so quickly and fully recognises the goodness of another and will help her because they stand upon a common ground of conscience and duty4 ,is it on such a ground you draw to others8 ,is your interest won by kindly dispositions and fidelity of temper8 ,do you love those who are sincere and patient in their duties1 content to serve where service is appointed by ,god8 ,are you attracted by one who cherishes a parent1 say a poor mother1 in the time of feebleness and old age1 doing all that is possible to smooth her path and provide for her comfort8 ,or have you little esteem for such a one1 for the duties so faithfully discharged1 because you see no brilliance or beauty1 and there are other persons more clever and successful on their own account1 more amusing because they are unburdened8 ,if so1 be sure of your own ignorance1 your own undutifulness1 your own want of principle and heart4 ,character is known by character1 and worth by worth4 ,those who are acquainted with you could probably say that you care more for display than for honour1 that you think more of making a fine figure in society than of showing generosity1 forbearance integrity at home4 ,the good appreciate goodness1 the true honour truth4 ,one important lesson of the ,book of ,ruth lies here1 that the great thing for young women1 and for young men also1 is to be quietly faithful in the service1 however humble1 to which ,god has called them and the family circle in which ,he has set them4 ,not indeed because that is the line of promotion1 though ,ruth found it so2 every ,ruth does not obtain favour in the eyes of a wealthy ,boaz4 ,so honourable and good a man is not to be met on every harvest held2 on the contrary she may encounter a ,nabal1 one who is churlish and evil in his doings4 ,we must take the course of this narrative as symbolic4 ,the book has in it the strain of a religious idyl4 ,the ,moabite who wins the regard of this man of ,judah represents those who1 though naturally strangers to the covenant of promise1 receive the grace of ,god and enter the circle of divine blessing--even coming to high dignity in the generations of the chosen people4 ,it is idyllic1 we say1 not an exhibition of every-day fact2 yet the course of divine justice is surely more beautiful1 more certain4 ,to every ,ruth comes the ,heavenly ,friend ,whose are all the pastures and fields1 all the good things of life4 ,the ,christian hope is in ,one ,who cannot fail to mark the most private faithfulness1 piety and love hidden like violets among the grass4 ,if there is not such a ,one1 the ,helper and ,vindicator of meek fidelity1 virtue has no sanction and well-doing no recompense4 ,the true ,israelite ,boaz accepts the daughter of an alien and unfriendly people on account of her own character and piety4 ,the ,lord recompense thy work1 and a full reward be given thee of the ,lord1 the ,god of ,israel1 under ,whose wings thou art come to take refuge4 ,such is the benediction which ,boaz invokes on ,ruth1 receiving her cordially into the family circle of ,jehovah4 ,already she has ceased to be a stranger and a foreigner to him4 ,the boundary walls of race are overstepped1 partly1 no doubt1 by that sense of kinship which the ,bethlehemite is quick to acknowledge4 ,for ,naomi's sake and for ,elimelech's as well as her own he craves divine protection and reward for the daughter of ,moab4 ,yet the beautiful phrase he employs1 full of ,hebrew confidence in ,god1 is an acknowledgment of ,ruth's act of faith and her personal right to share with the children of ,abraham the fostering love of the ,almighty4 ,the story1 then1 is a plea against that exclusiveness which the ,hebrews too often indulged4 ,on this page of the annals the truth is written out that though ,jehovah cared for ,israel much ,he cares still more for love and faithfulness1 purity and goodness4 ,we reach at last an instance of that fulfilment of ,israel's mission to the nations around which in our study of the ,book of ,judges we looked for in vain4 ,not for ,israel only in the time of its narrowness was the lesson given4 ,we need it still4 ,the justification and redemption of ,god are not restricted to those who have certain traditions and beliefs4 ,even as a ,moabite woman brought up in the worship of ,chemosh1 with many heathen ideas still in her mind1 has her place under the wings of ,jehovah as a soul seeking righteousness1 so from countries and regions of life which ,christian people may consider a kind of rude heathen ,moab many in humility and sincerity may be coming nigh to the kingdom of ,god4 ,it was so in our ,lord's time1 and it is so still4 ,all along the true religion of ,god has been for reconciliation and brotherhood among men1 and it was possible for many ,israelites to do what ,naomi did in the way of making effectual the promise of ,god to ,abraham that in his seed all families of the earth should be blessed4 ,there never was a middle wall of partition between men except in the thought of the ,hebrew4 ,he was separated that he might be able to convert and bless1 not that he might stand aloof in pride4 ,the wall which he built ,christ has broken down that the servants of ,his gospel may go freely forth to find everywhere brethren in common humanity and need1 who are to be made brethren in ,christ4 ,the outward representation of brotherhood in faith must follow the work of the reconciling ,spirit--cannot precede it4 ,and when the reconciliation is felt in the depth of human souls we shall have the all-comprehensive church1 a fair and gracious dwelling-place1 wide as the race1 rich with every noble thought and hope of man and every gift of ,heaven4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,hazardous ,,plan4 ,,ruth iii4 ,hope came to ,naomi when ,ruth returned with the ephah of barley and her story of the rich man's hearty greeting4 ,god was remembering ,his handmaiden2 ,he had not shut up ,his tender mercies4 ,through ,his favour ,boaz had been moved to kindness1 and the house of ,elimelech would yet be raised from the dust4 ,the woman's heart1 clinging to its last hope1 was encouraged4 ,naomi was loud in her praises of ,jehovah and of the man who had with such pious readiness befriended ,ruth4 ,and the young woman had due encouragement4 ,she heard no fault-finding1 no complaint that she had made too little of her chance4 ,the young sometimes find it difficult to serve the old1 and those who have come down in the world are very apt to be discontented and querulous2 what is done for them is never rightly done1 never enough4 ,it was not so here4 ,the elder woman seems to have had nothing but gratitude for the gentle effort of the other4 ,and so the weeks of barley-harvest and of wheat-harvest went by1 ,ruth busy in the fields of ,boaz1 gleaning behind his maidens1 helped by their kindness--for they knew better than to thwart their master--and cheered at home by the pleasure of her mother-in-law4 ,an idyl8 ,yes3 one that might be enacted1 with varying circumstances1 in a thousand homes where at present distrust and impatience keep souls from the peace ,god would give them4 ,but1 one may ask1 why did ,boaz1 so well inclined to be generous1 knowing these women to be deserving of help1 leave them week after week without further notice and aid8 ,could he reckon his duty done when he allowed ,ruth to glean in his fields1 gave her a share of the refreshment provided for the reapers1 and ordered them to pull some ears from the bundles that she might the more easily fill her arms8 ,for friendships sake even1 should he not have done more8 ,we keep in mind1 for one thing1 that ,boaz1 though a kinsman1 was not the nearest relation ,naomi had in ,bethlehem4 ,another was of closer kin to ,elimelech1 and it was his duty to take up the widow's case in accordance with the custom of the time4 ,the old law that no ,hebrew family should be allowed to lapse had deep root and justification4 ,how could ,israel maintain itself in the land of promise and become the testifying people of ,god if families were suffered to die out and homesteads to be lost8 ,one war after another drained away many active men of the tribes4 ,upon those who survived lay the serious duty of protecting widows1 upholding claims to farm and dwelling and raising up to those who had died a name in ,israel4 ,the stress of the time gave sanction to the law2 without it ,israel would have decayed1 losing ground and power in the face of the enemy4 ,now this custom bound the nearest kinsman of ,naomi to befriend her and1 at least1 to establish her claim to a certain parcel of land near ,bethlehem4 ,as for ,boaz1 he had to stand aside and give the goel his opportunity4 ,and another reason is easily seen for his not hastening to supply the two widows with every comfort and remove from their hearts every fear1 a reason which touches the great difficulty of the philanthropic1--how to do good and yet do no harm4 ,to give is easy2 but to help without tarnishing the fine independence and noble thrift of poorer persons is not easy4 ,it is1 in truth1 a very serious matter to use wealth wisely1 for against the absolute duty of help hangs the serious mischief that may result from lavish or careless charity4 ,boaz appears a true friend and wise benefactor in leaving ,ruth to enjoy the sweetness of securing the daily portion of corn by her own exertion4 ,he might have relieved her from toiling like one of the poorest and least cared for of women4 ,he might have sent her home the first day and one of his young men after her with store of corn and oil4 ,but if he had done so he would have made the great mistake so often made now-a-days by the bountiful4 ,an industrious patient generous life would have been spoiled4 ,to protect ,ruth from any kind or degree of insolence1 to show her1 for his own part1 the most delicate respect--this ,boaz could well do4 ,in what he refrained from doing he is an example1 and in the kind and measure of attention he paid to ,ruth4 ,corresponding acts of ,christian courtesy and justice due from the rich and influential of our time to persons in straitened circumstances are far too often unrendered4 ,a thousand opportunities of paying this real debt of man to man are allowed to pass4 ,those concerned do not see any obligation1 and the reason is that they want the proper state of mind4 ,that is indispensable4 ,where it exists true neighbourliness will follow2 the best help will be given naturally with perfect taste1 in proper degree and without self-sufficiency or pride4 ,a great hazard goes with much of the spiritual work of our time4 ,the ,ruth gleaning for herself in the field of ,christian thought1 finding here and there an ear of heavenly corn which1 as she has gathered it1 gives true nourishment to the soul--is met not by one but by many eager to save her all the trouble of searching the ,scriptures and thinking out the problems of life and faith4 ,is it wrong to deprive a brave self-helper of the need to toil for daily bread8 ,how much greater is the wrong done to minds capable of spiritual endeavour when they are taught to renounce personal effort and are loaded with sheaves of corn which they have neither sowed nor reaped4 ,the fashion of our time is to save people trouble in religion1 to remove all resistance from the way of mind and soul1 and as a result the spiritual life never attains strength or even consciousness4 ,better the scanty meal won by personal search in the great harvest field than the surfeit of dainties on which some are fed1 spiritual paupers though they know it not4 ,the wisdom of the ,divine ,book is marvellously shown in that it gives largely without destroying the need for effort1 that it requires examination and research1 comparison of scripture with scripture1 earnest thought in many a field4 ,bible study1 therefore1 makes strong ,christians1 strong faith4 ,as time went by and harvest drew to a close1 ,naomi grew impatient4 ,anxious about ,ruth's future she wished to see something done towards establishing her in safety and honour4 ,my daughter-in-law1 we hear her say1 shall ,i not seek rest--a menuchah or asylum for thee1 that it may be well with thee8 ,no goel or redeemer has appeared to befriend ,naomi and reinstate her1 or ,ruth as representing her dead son1 in the rights of ,elimelech4 ,if those rights are not to lapse1 something must be done speedily2 and ,naomi's plot is a bold one4 ,she sets ,ruth to claim ,boaz as the kinsman whose duty it is to marry her and become her protector4 ,ruth is to go to the threshing-floor on the night of the harvest festival1 wait until ,boaz lies down to sleep beside the mass of winnowed grain1 and place herself at his feet1 so reminding him that if no other will it is his part to be a husband to her for the sake of ,elimelech and his sons4 ,the plan is daring and appears to us indelicate at least4 ,it is impossible to say whether any custom of the time sanctioned it2 but even in that case we cannot acquit ,naomi of resorting to a stratagem with the view of bringing about what seemed most desirable for ,ruth and herself4 ,now let us remember the position of the two widows1 lonely1 with no prospect before them but hard toil that would by-and-by fail1 unable to undertake anything on their own account1 and still regarded with indifference if not suspicion by the people of ,bethlehem4 ,there is no asylum for ,ruth except in the house of a husband4 ,if ,naomi dies she will be worse than destitute1 morally under a cloud4 ,to live by herself will be to lead a life of constant peril4 ,it is1 we may say1 a desperate resource on which ,naomi falls4 ,boaz is probably already married1 has perhaps more wives than one4 ,true1 he has room in his house for ,ruth2 he can easily provide for her2 and though the customs of the age are strained somewhat we must partly admit excuse4 ,still the venture is almost entirely suggested and urged by worldly considerations1 and for the sake of them great risk is run4 ,instead of gaining a husband ,ruth may completely forfeit respect4 ,boaz1 so far from entertaining her appeal to his kinship and generosity1 may drive her from the threshing-floor4 ,it is one of those cases in which1 notwithstanding some possible defence in custom1 poverty and anxiety lead into dubious ways4 ,we ask why ,naomi did not first approach the proper goel1 the kinsman nearer than ,boaz1 on whom she had an undeniable claim4 ,and the answer occurs that he did not seem in respect of disposition or means so good a match as ,boaz4 ,or why did she not go directly to ,boaz and state her desire8 ,she was apparently not averse from grasping at the result1 compromising him1 or running the risk of doing so in order to gain her end4 ,we cannot pass the point without observing that1 despite the happy issue of this plot1 it is a warning not an example4 ,these secret1 underhand schemes are not to our liking2 they should in no circumstances be resorted to4 ,it was well for ,ruth that she had a man to deal with who was generous1 not irascible1 a man of character who had fully appreciated her goodness4 ,the scheme would otherwise have had a pitiful result4 ,the story is one creditable in many respects to human nature1 and the ,moabite acting under ,naomi's direction appears almost blameless2 yet the sense of having lowered herself must have cast its shadow4 ,a risk was run too great by far for modesty and honour4 ,to compromise ourselves by doing that which savours of presumption1 which goes too far even by a hair's-breadth in urging a claim is a bad thing4 ,better remain without what we reckon our rights than lower our moral dignity in pressing them4 ,independence of character1 perfect honour and uprightness are too precious by far to be imperilled even in a time of serious difficulty4 ,to-day we can hardly turn in any direction without seeing instances of risky compromise often ending in disaster4 ,to obtain preferment one will offer some mean bribe of flattery to the person who can give it4 ,to gain a fortune men will condescend to pitiful self-humiliation4 ,in the literary world the upward ways open easily to talent that does not refuse compromises2 a writer may have success at the price of astute silence or careful caressing of prejudice4 ,the candidate for office commits himself and has afterwards to wriggle as best he can out of the straits in which he is involved4 ,and what is the meaning of the light judgment of drunkenness and impurity by men and women of all ranks who associate with those known to be guilty and make no protest against their wrongdoing8 ,it would be shirking one of the plain applications of the incidents before us if we passed over the compromises so many women make with self-respect and purity4 ,ruth1 under the advice of one whom she knew to be a good woman1 risked something3 with us now are many who against the entreaty of all true friends adventure into dangerous ways1 put themselves into the power of men they have no reason to trust4 ,and women in high place1 who should set an example of fidelity to the divine order and understand the honour of womanhood1 are rather leading the dance of freedom and risk4 ,to keep a position or win a position in the crowd called society some will yield to any fashion1 go all lengths in the license of amusement1 sit unblushing at plays that serve only one end1 give themselves and their daughters to embraces that degrade4 ,the struggle to live is spoken of sometimes as an excuse for women4 ,but is it the very poor only who compromise themselves8 ,something else is going on beside the struggle to find work and bread4 ,people are forgetting ,god1 thrusting aside the ideas of the soul and of sin2 they want keen delight and are ready to venture all if only in triumphant ambition or on the perilous edge of infamy they can satisfy desire for an hour4 ,the cry of to-day1 spreading down through all ranks1 is the old one1 ,why should we be righteous over much and destroy ourselves8 ,it is the expression of a base and despicable atheism4 ,to deny the higher light which shows the way of personal duty and nobleness1 to prefer instead the miserable rushlight of desire is the fatal choice against which all wisdom of sage and seer testifies4 ,yet the thing is done daily1 done by brilliant women who go on as if nothing was wrong and laugh back to those who follow them4 ,the ,divine ,friend of women protests1 but ,his words are unheard1 drowned by the fascinating music and quick pulsation of the dance of death4 ,to compromise ourselves is bad3 close beside lies the danger of compromising others2 and this too is illustrated by the narrative4 ,boaz acted in generosity and honour1 told ,ruth plainly that a kinsman nearer than himself stood between them1 made her a most favourable promise4 ,but he sent her away in the early morning before one could recognise another4 ,the risk to which she had exposed him was one he did not care to face4 ,while he made all possible excuses for her and was in a sense proud of the trust she had reposed in him1 still he was somewhat alarmed and anxious4 ,the narrative is generous to ,ruth2 but this is not concealed4 ,we see very distinctly a touch of something caught in heathen ,moab4 ,on the more satisfactory side of the picture is the confidence so unreservedly exercised1 justified so thoroughly4 ,it is good to be among people who deserve trust and never fail in the time of trial4 ,take them at any hour1 in any way they are the same4 ,incapable of baseness they bear every test4 ,on the firm conviction that ,boaz was a man of this kind ,naomi depended1 upon this and an assurance equally firm that ,ruth would behave herself discreetly4 ,happy indeed are those who have the honour of friendship with the honourable and true1 with men who would rather lose a right hand than do anything base1 with women who would die for honour's sake4 ,to have acquaintance with faithful men is to have a way prepared for faith in ,god4 ,let us not fail1 however1 to observe where honour like this may be found1 where alone it is to be found4 ,common is the belief that absolute fidelity may exist in soil cleared of all religious principle4 ,you meet people who declare that religion is of no use4 ,they have been brought up in religion1 but they are tired of it4 ,they have given up churches and prayers and are going to be honourable without thought of ,god1 on the basis of their own steadfast virtue4 ,we shall not say it is impossible1 or that women like ,ruth may not rely upon men who so speak4 ,but a single word of scorn cast on religion reveals so faulty a character that it is better not to confide in the man who utters it4 ,he is in the real sense an atheist1 one to whom nothing is sacred4 ,about some duties he may have a sentiment2 but what is sentiment or taste to build upon8 ,for one to trust where reputation is concerned1 where moral well-being is involved a soul must be found whose life is rooted in the faith of ,god4 ,true enough1 we are under the necessity of trusting persons for whom we have no such guarantee4 ,fortunately1 however1 it is only in matters of business1 or municipal affairs1 or parliamentary votes1 things extraneous to our proper life4 ,unrighteous laws may be made1 we may be defrauded and oppressed1 but that does not affect our spiritual position4 ,when it comes to the soul and the soul's life1 when one is in search of a wife1 a husband1 a friend1 trust should be placed elsewhere1 hope built on a sure foundation4 ,may we depend upon love in the absence of religious faith8 ,some would fain conjure with that word2 but love is a divine gift when it is pure and true2 the rest is mere desire and passion4 ,do you suppose because an insincere worldly man has a selfish passion for you that you can be safe with him8 ,do you think because a worldly woman loves you in a worldly way that your soul and your future will be safe with her8 ,find a fearer of ,god1 one whose virtues are rooted where alone they can grow1 in faith1 or live without a wife1 a husband4 ,it is presupposed that you yourself are a fearer of ,god1 a servant of ,christ4 ,for1 unless you are1 the rule operates on the other side and you are one who should be shunned4 ,besides1 if you are a materialist living in time and sense and yet look for spiritual graces and superhuman fidelity1 your expectation is amazing1 your hope a thing to wonder at4 ,true1 hypocrites exist1 and we may be deceived just because of our certainty that religion is the only root of faithfulness4 ,a man may simulate religion and deceive for a time4 ,the young may be sadly deluded1 a whole community betrayed by one who makes the divinest facts of human nature serve his own wickedness awhile4 ,he disappears and leaves behind him broken hearts1 shattered hopes1 darkened lives4 ,has religion1 then1 nothing to do with morality8 ,the very ruin we lament shows that the human heart in its depth testifies to an intimate and eternal connection with the absolute of fidelity4 ,not otherwise could that hypocrite have deceived4 ,and in the strength of faith there are men and women of unflinching honour1 who1 when they find each other out1 form rare and beautiful alliances4 ,step for step they go on1 married or unmarried1 each cheering the other in trial1 sustaining the other in every high and generous task4 ,together they enter more deeply into the purpose of life1 that is the will of ,god1 and fill with strong and healthy religion the circle of their influence4 ,of the people of ordinary virtue what shall be said8--those who are neither perfectly faithful nor disgracefully unfaithful1 neither certain to be staunch and true nor ready to betray and cast aside those who trust them4 ,large is the class of men whose individuality is not of a moral kind1 affable and easy1 brisk and clever but not resolute in truth and right4 ,are we to leave these where they are8 ,if we belong to their number are we to stay among them8 ,must they get on as best they can with each other1 neither blessed nor condemned8 ,for them the gospel is provided in its depth and urgency4 ,theirs is the state it cannot tolerate nor leave untouched1 unaffected4 ,if earth is good enough for you1 so runs the divine message to them1 cling to it1 enjoy its dainties1 laugh in its sunlight--and die with it4 ,but if you see the excellence of truth1 be true2 if you hear the voice of the eternal ,christ1 arise and follow ,him1 born again by the word of ,god which liveth and abideth for ever4 ,v4 ,,the ,,marriage ,,at ,,the ,,gate ,,ruth iv ,a simple ceremony of ,oriental life brings to a climax the history which itself closes in sweet music the stormy drama of the ,book of ,judges4 ,with all the literary skill and moral delicacy1 all the charm and keen judgment of inspiration the narrator gives us what he has from the ,spirit4 ,he has represented with fine brevity and power of touch the old life and custom of ,israel1 the private groups in which piety and faithfulness were treasured1 the frank humanity and divine seriousness of ,jehovah's covenant4 ,and now we are at the gate of ,bethlehem where the head men are assembled and according to the usage of the time the affairs of ,naomi and ,ruth are settled by the village court of justice4 ,boaz gives a challenge to the goel of ,naomi1 and point by point we follow the legal forms by which the right to redeem the land of ,elimelech is given up to ,boaz and ,ruth becomes his wife4 ,why is an old custom presented with such minuteness8 ,we may affirm the underlying suggestion to be that the ways described were good ways which ought to be kept in mind4 ,the usage implied great openness and neighbourliness1 a simple and straightforward method of arranging affairs which were of moment to a community4 ,people lived then in very direct and frank relations with each other4 ,their little town and its concerns had close and intelligent attention4 ,men and women desired to act so that there might be good understanding among them1 no jealousy nor rancour of feeling4 ,elaborate forms of law were unknown1 unnecessary4 ,to take off the shoe and hand it to another in the presence of honest neighbours ratified a decision as well and gave as good security as much writing on parchment4 ,the author of the ,book of ,ruth commends these homely ways of a past age and suggests to the men of his own time that civilization and the monarchy1 while they have brought some gains1 are perhaps to be blamed for the decay of simplicity and friendliness4 ,more than one reason may be found for supposing the book to have been written in ,solomon's time1 probably the latter part of his reign when laws and ordinances had multiplied and were being enforced in endless detail by a central authority2 when the manners of the nations around1 ,chaldea1 ,egypt1 ,phoenicia1 were overbearing the primitive ways of ,israel2 when luxury was growing1 society dividing into classes and a proud imperialism giving its colour to habit and religion4 ,if we place the book at this period we can understand the moral purpose of the writer and the importance of his work4 ,he would teach people to maintain the spirit of ,israel's past1 the brotherliness1 the fidelity in every relation that were to have been all along a distinction of ,hebrew life because inseparably connected with the obedience of ,jehovah4 ,the splendid temple on ,moriah was now the centre of a great priestly system1 and from temple and palace the national and1 to a great extent1 the personal life of all ,israelites was largely influenced1 not in every respect for good4 ,the quiet suggestion is here made that the artificiality and pomp of the kingdom did not compare well with that old time when the affairs of an ancestress of the splendid monarch were settled by a gathering at a village gate4 ,nor is the lesson without its value now4 ,we are not to go back on the past in mere antiquarian curiosity1 the interest of secular research4 ,labour which goes to revive the story of mankind in remote ages has its value only when it is applied to the uses of the moralist and the prophet4 ,we have much to learn again that has been forgotten1 much to recall that has escaped the memory of the race4 ,through phases of complex civilization in which the outward and sensuous are pursued the world has to pass to a new era of more simple and yet more profound life1 to a social order fitted for the development of spiritual power and grace4 ,and the church is well directed by the ,book of ,god4 ,her inquiry into the past is no affair of intellectual curiosity1 but a research governed by the principles that have underlain man's life from the first and a growing apprehension of all that is at stake in the multiform energy of the present4 ,amid the bustle and pressure of those endeavours which ,christian faith itself may induce our minds become confused4 ,thinkers and doers are alike apt to forget the deliverances knowledge ought to effect1 and while they learn and attempt much they are rather passing into bondage than finding life4 ,our research seems more and more to occupy us with the manner of things1 and even ,bible ,archaeology is exposed to this reproach4 ,as for the scientific comparers of religion they are mostly feeding the vanity of the age with a sense of extraordinary progress and enlightenment1 and themselves are occasionally heard to confess that the farther they go in study of old faiths1 old rituals and moralities the less profit they find1 the less hint of a design4 ,no such futility1 no failure of culture and inquiry mark the ,bible writers dealing with the past4 ,to the humble life of the ,son of ,man on earth1 to the life of the ,hebrews long before ,he appeared our thought is carried back from the thousand objects that fascinate in the world of to-day4 ,and there we see the faith and all the elements of spiritual vitality of which our own belief and hope are the fruit4 ,there too without those cumbrous modern involutions which never become familiar1 society wonderfully fulfils its end in regulating personal effort and helping the conscience and the soul4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the scene at the gate shows ,boaz energetically conducting the case he has taken up4 ,private considerations urged him to bring rapidly to an issue the affairs of ,naomi and ,ruth since he was involved1 and again he commends himself as a man who1 having a task in hand1 does it with his might4 ,his pledge to ,ruth was a pledge also to his own conscience that no suspense should be due to any carelessness of his2 and in this he proved himself a pattern friend4 ,the great man often shows his greatness by making others wait at his door4 ,they are left to find the level of their insignificance and learn the value of his favour4 ,so the grace of ,god is frustrated by those who have the opportunity and should covet the honour of being ,his instruments4 ,men know that they should wait patiently on ,god's time1 but they are bewildered when they have to wait on the strange arrogance of those in whose hands ,providence has placed the means of their succour4 ,and many must be the cases in which this fault of man begets bitterness1 distrust of ,god and even despair4 ,it should be a matter of anxiety to us all to do with speed and care anything on which the hopes of the humble and needy rest4 ,a soul more worthy than our own may languish in darkness while a promise which should have been sacred is allowed to fade from our memory4 ,boaz was also open and straightforward in his transactions4 ,his own wish is pretty clear4 ,he seems as anxious as ,naomi herself that to him should fall the duty of redeeming her burdened inheritance and reviving her husband's name4 ,possibly without any public discussion1 by consulting with the nearer kinsman and urging his own wish or superior ability he might have settled the affair4 ,other inducements failing1 the offer of a sum of money might have secured to him the right of redemption4 ,but in the light of honour1 in the court of his conscience1 the man was unable thus to seek his end2 and besides the town's people had to be considered2 their sense of justice had to be satisfied as well as his own4 ,often it is not enough that we do a thing from the best of motives2 we must do it in the best way1 for the support of justice or purity or truth4 ,while private benevolence is one of the finest of arts1 the ,christian is not unfrequently called to exercise another which is more difficult and not less needful in society4 ,required at one hour not to let his left hand know what his right hand doeth1 at another he is required in all modesty and simplicity to take his fellows to witness that he acts for righteousness1 that he is contending for some thought of ,christ's1 that he is not standing in the outer court among those who are ashamed but has taken his place with the ,master at the judgment bar of the world4 ,again1 when a matter in which a ,christian is involved is before the public and has provoked a good deal of discussion and perhaps no little criticism of religion and its professors it is not enough that out of sight1 out of court some arrangement be made which counts for a moral settlement4 ,that is not enough though a person whose rights and character are affected may consent to it4 ,if still the world has reason to question whether justice has been done1--justice has not been done4 ,if still the truthfulness of the church is under valid suspicion1--the church is not manifesting ,christ as it should4 ,for no moral cause once opened at public assize can be issued in private4 ,it is no longer between one man and another1 nor between a man and the church4 ,the conscience of the race has been empanelled and cannot be discharged without judgment4 ,innumerable causes withdrawn from court1 compromised1 hushed up or settled in corners with an effort at justice still shadow the history of the church and cast a darkness of justifiable suspicion on the path along which she would advance4 ,even in this little affair at ,bethlehem the good man will have everything done with perfect openness and honour and will stand by the result whether it meet his hopes or disappoint them4 ,at the town-gate1 the common meeting-place for conversation and business1 ,boaz takes his seat and invites the goel to sit beside him and also a jury of ten elders4 ,the court thus constituted1 he states the case of ,naomi and her desire to sell a parcel of land which belonged to her husband4 ,when ,elimelech left ,bethlehem he had1 no doubt1 borrowed money on the field1 and now the question is whether the nearest kinsman will pay the debt and beyond that the further value of the land so that the widow may have something to herself4 ,promptly the goel answers that he is ready to buy the land4 ,this1 however1 is not all4 ,in buying the field and adding it to his estate will the man take ,ruth to wife1 to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance8 ,he is not prepared to do that1 for the children of ,ruth would be entitled to the portion of ground and he is unwilling to impoverish his own family4 ,i cannot redeem it for myself1 lest ,i mar my own inheritance4 ,he draws off his shoe and gives it to ,boaz renouncing his right of redemption4 ,now this marriage-custom is not ours1 but at the time1 as we have seen1 it was a sacred rule1 and the goel was morally bound by it4 ,he could have insisted on redeeming the land as his right4 ,to do so was therefore his duty1 and to a certain extent he failed from the ideal of a kinsman's obligation4 ,but the position was not an easy one4 ,surely the man was justified in considering the children he already had and their claims upon him4 ,did he not exercise a wise prudence in refusing to undertake a new obligation8 ,moreover the circumstances were delicate and dispeace might have been caused in his household if he took the ,moabite woman4 ,it is certainly one of those cases in which a custom or law has great weight and yet creates no little difficulty1 moral as well as pecuniary1 in the observance4 ,a man honest enough and not ungenerous may find it hard to determine on which side duty lies4 ,without1 however1 abusing this goel we may fairly take him as a type of those who are more impressed by the prudential view of their circumstances than by the duties of kinship and hospitality4 ,if in the course of providence we have to decide whether we will admit some new inmate to our home worldly considerations must not rule either on the one side or the other4 ,a man's duty to his family1 what is it8 ,to exclude a needy dependant however pressing the claim may be8 ,to admit one freely who has the recommendation of wealth8 ,such earthly calculation is no rule for a true man4 ,the moral duty1 the moral result are always to be the main elements of decision4 ,no family ever gains by relief from an obligation conscience acknowledges4 ,no family loses by the fulfilment of duty1 whatever the expense4 ,in household debate the balance too often turns not on the character of ,ruth but on her lack of gear4 ,the same woman who is refused as a heathen when she is poor1 is discovered to be a most desirable relation if she brings fuel for the fire of welcome4 ,let our decisions be quite clear of this mean hypocrisy4 ,would we insist on being dutiful to a rich relation8 ,then the duty remains to him and his if they fall into poverty1 for a moral claim cannot be altered by the state of the purse4 ,and what of the duty to ,christ1 ,his church1 ,his poor8 ,would to ,god some people were afraid to leave their children wealthy1 were afraid of having ,god inquire for ,his portion4 ,a shadow rests on the inheritance that has been guarded in selfish pride against the just claims of man1 in defiance of the law of ,christ4 ,yet let one be sure that his liberality is not mixed with a carnal hope4 ,what do we think of when we declare that ,god's recompense to those who give freely comes in added store of earthly treasure1 the tithe returned ten and twenty and a hundred fold8 ,by what law of the material or spiritual world does this come about8 ,certainly we love a generous man1 and the liberal shall stand by liberal things4 ,but surely ,god's purpose is to make us comprehend that ,his grace does not take the form of a percentage on investments4 ,when a man grows spiritually1 when although he becomes poorer he yet advances to nobler manhood1 to power and joy in ,christ--this is the reward of ,christian generosity and faithfulness4 ,let us be done with religious materialism1 with expecting our ,god to repay us in the coin of this earth for our service in the heavenly kingdom4 ,the marriage of ,ruth at which we now arrive appears at once as the happy termination of ,naomi's solicitude for her1 the partial reward of her own faithfulness and the solution so far as she was concerned of the problem of woman's destiny4 ,the idea of the spiritual completion of life for woman as well as man1 of the woman being able to attain a personal standing of her own with individual responsibility and freedom was not fully present to the ,hebrew mind4 ,if unmarried1 ,ruth would have remained1 as ,naomi well knew and had all along said1 without a place in society1 without an asylum or shelter4 ,this old-world view of things burdens the whole history1 and before passing on we must compare it with the state of modern thought on the question4 ,the incompleteness of the childless widow's life which is an element of this narrative1 the incompleteness of the life of every unmarried woman which appears in the lament for ,jephthah's daughter and elsewhere in the ,bible as well as in other records of the ancient world had1 we may say1 a two-fold cause4 ,on the one hand there was the obvious fact that marriage has a reason in physical constitution and the order of human society4 ,on the other hand heathen practices and constant wars made it1 as we have seen1 impossible for women to establish themselves alone4 ,a woman needed protection1 or as the law of ,england has it1 coverture4 ,in very exceptional cases only could the opportunity be found1 even among the people of ,jehovah1 for those personal efforts and acts which give a position in the world4 ,but the distinction of ,israel's custom and law as compared with those of many nations lay here1 that woman was recognized as entitled to a place of her own side by side with man in the social scheme4 ,the conception of her individuality as of individuality generally was limited4 ,the idea of what is now called the social organism governed family life1 and the very faith that was afterwards to become the strength of individuality was held as a national thing4 ,the view of complete life had no clear extension into the future1 even the salvation of the soul did not appear as a distinct provision for personal immortality4 ,under these limitations1 however1 the proper life of every woman and her place in the nation were acknowledged and provision was made for her as well as circumstances would allow4 ,by the customs of marriage and by the laws of inheritance she was recognized and guarded4 ,now it may appear that the problem of woman's place1 so far from approaching solution in ,christian times1 has rather fallen into greater confusion2 and many are the attacks made from one point of view and another upon the present condition of things4 ,by the nature school of revolutionaries physical constitution is made a starting-point in argument and the reasoning sweeps before it every hindrance to the completion of life on that side for women as for men4 ,christian marriage is itself assailed by these as an obstacle in the path of evolution4 ,they find women1 thanks to ,christianity1 no longer unable to establish themselves in life2 but against ,christianity which has done this they raise the loud complaint that it bars the individual from full life and enjoyment4 ,in the course of our discussion of the ,book of ,judges reference has been made once and again to this propaganda1 and here its real nature comes to light4 ,its conception of human life is based on mere animalism2 it throws into the crucible the gain of the centuries in spiritual discipline and energetic purity in order to make ample provision for the flesh and the fulfilling of the lusts thereof4 ,but the problem is not more confused2 it is solved1 as all other problems are by ,christ4 ,penetrating and arrogant voices of the day will cease and ,his again be heard ,whose terrible and gracious doctrine of personal responsibility in the supernatural order is already the heart of human thought and hope4 ,there is turmoil1 disorder1 vile and foolish experimenting2 but the remedy is forward not behind4 ,christ has opened the spiritual kingdom1 has made it possible for every soul to enter4 ,for each human being now1 man and woman1 life means spiritual overcoming1 spiritual possession1 and can mean nothing else4 ,it is altogether out of date1 an insult to the conscience and common sense of mankind1 not to speak of its faith1 to go back on the primitive world and the ages of a lower evolution and fasten down to sensuousness a race that has heard the liberating word1 ,repent1 believe and live4 ,the incompleteness of a human being lies in subjection to passion1 in existing without moral energy1 governed by the earthly and therefore without hope or reason of life4 ,to the full stature of heavenly power the woman has her way open through the blood of the cross1 and by a path of loneliness and privation1 if need be1 she may advance to the highest range of priestly service and blessing4 ,to the ,jewish people and to the writer of the ,book of ,ruth as a ,jew genealogy was of more account than to us1 and a place in ,david's ancestry appears as the final honour of ,ruth for her dutifulness1 her humble faith in the ,god of ,israel4 ,orpah is forgotten2 she remained with her own people and died in obscurity4 ,but faithful ,ruth lives distinguished in history4 ,she takes her place among the matrons of ,bethlehem and the people of ,god4 ,the story of her life1 says one1 stands at the portal of the life of ,david and at the gates of the gospel4 ,yet suppose ,ruth had not been married to ,boaz or to any other good and wealthy man1 would she have been less admirable and deserving8 ,we attribute nothing to accident4 ,in the providence of ,god ,boaz was led to an admiration for ,ruth and ,naomi's plan succeeded4 ,but it might have been otherwise4 ,there is nothing1 after all1 so striking in her faith that we should expect her to be singled out for special honour2 and she is not4 ,the divine reward of goodness is the peace of ,god in the soul1 the gladness of fellowship with ,him1 the opportunity of learning ,his will and dispensing ,his grace4 ,it is interesting to note that ,ruth's son ,obed was the father of ,jesse and the grandfather of ,david4 ,but was ,ruth not also the ancestress of the sons of ,zeruiah1 of ,absalom1 ,adonijah and ,rehoboam8 ,even though looking down the generations we see the ,messiah born of her line1 how can that glorify ,ruth8 or1 if it does1 how shall we explain the want of glory of many an estimable and godly woman who fighting a battle harder than ,ruth's1 with clearer faith in ,god1 lived and died in some obscure village of ,naphtali or dragged out a weary widowhood on the borders of the ,syrian desert8 ,yet there is a sense in which the history of ,ruth stands at the gates of the gospel4 ,it bears the lesson that ,jehovah acknowledged all who did justly and loved mercy and walked humbly with ,him4 ,the foreign woman was justified by faith1 and her faith had its reward when she was accepted as one of ,jehovah's people and knew ,him as her gracious ,friend4 ,israel had in this book the warrant for missionary work among the pagan nations and a beautiful apologue of the reconciliation the faith of ,jehovah was to effect among the severed families of mankind4 ,the same faith is ours1 but with deeper urgency1 the same spirit of reconciliation reaching now to farther mightier issues4 ,we have seen the ,goel of the race and have heard ,his offer of redemption4 ,we are commissioned to those who dwell in the remotest borders of the moral world under oppressions of heathenism and fear or wander in strange ,moabs of confusion where deep calleth unto deep4 ,we have to testify that with ,one and ,one only are the light1 the joy1 the completeness of man1 because ,he alone among sages and helpers has the secret of our sin and weakness and the long miracle of the soul's redemption4 ,go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation3 and lo1 ,i am with you4 ,the faith of the ,hebrew is more than fulfilled4 ,out of ,israel ,he comes our ,menuchah1 ,who is an hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest1 as rivers of water in a dry place1 as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land4 ,,index4 ,achsah1 #bj4 ,adoni-bezek1 #ab4 ,adventurer1 the1 #baa4 ,agnosticism1 #aef4 ,altars1 local1 #cch4 ,amalek1 #gh4 ,amorites1 #fd4 ,angel of ,jehovah1 #adg4 ,ascendency of races1 #ad4 ,astarte1 #eb4 ,baal1 #eb4 ,baal-berith1 the modern1 #bba4 ,baal-peor1 #ea4 ,balaam1 #gj4 ,barak1 the ,lightning ,chief1 #ii2 agreement with ,deborah1 #abb4 ,barbarism1 the new1 #adj4 ,bethlehem1 #cfd4 ,canaan1 its population1 #f2 central position1 #f2 degeneracy of its people1 #h2 god of1 #eb4 ,character1 national1 #bje2 of ,arabs1 #bci2 decision of1 #cgh4 ,charity1 careless1 #cii4 ,christ1 the ,strengthener1 #db1 #dc2 and the inquirer1 #abd2 and the church1 #aeb1 #agg2 critics of1 #aed2 personal pledge to1 #afj1 #chc2 enemies of1 #aha2 priesthood of1 #bjh2 kingship of1 #bbh2 sacrifice of1 #bea1 #ccb2 manliness of1 #bfd2 the temple1 #cdc2 ,his teaching as to wealth1 #chh4 ,christianity secularized1 #ccj4 ,church1 the opposition to1 #gi1 #hb2 leaders in1 #abc2 custody of truth by1 #abd2 world in1 #acc2 elation of1 #aci2 right spirit of1 #aeb2 confusion in1 #aga2 national1 #agf2 attacks upon1 #ahf2 perpetual duty of1 #cec4 ,completeness of life1 #daf4 ,compromise1 #hh1 #djb2 with heathens1 #ih4 ,concentration1 #age2 and breadth1 #bge4 ,conscience1 correlative of power1 #cjc2 and life1 #cec1 #ced2 insanity of1 #ceg4 ,conversion1 #bg1 #aei2 imperfect1 #da2 helped by circumstances1 #aeh2 complete1 #afj2 ,ruth's1 #cha4 ,co-partnery1 with the world1 #bbj2 between ,hebrew and ,philistine1 #bhd4 ,creed1 the old1 #agb4 ,culture1 #bj1 #hh2 affecting religion1 #bbh4 ,cushan-rishathaim1 #fi4 ,custom1 old1 why recorded1 #djh4 ,danite migration1 #cdj4 ,date of ,book of ,ruth1 #dji4 ,deborah1 #ia2 inspiration of1 #if1 #ajb1 #ajh2 her wisdom1 #ajj2 not unmerciful1 #aag2 her judgeship1 #ace4 ,dependents1 duty to1 #dad4 ,dependence1 ignoble1 #big4 ,divine judgment1 #aa2 of ,meroz the prudent1 #acb4 ,divine ,vindicator1 the1 #cid4 ,doubt1 religious1 #bf4 ,earth-force in man1 #adi4 ,ecclesiasticism1 #afg1 #bja4 ,education1 #bgc4 ,ehud1 #hc4 ,emigration1 #cff4 ,entanglements1 base1 #cja4 ,equipment for life1 #ahd4 ,evil1 despotic1 #bhg4 ,evolution1 spiritual1 #d1 #he1 #aji4 ,ezra1 #ch4 ,faint yet pursuing1 #aia4 ,faith1 development of1 #d2 conflicts of1 #bg2 link between generations1 #di2 army of1 #abh2 recuperative power of1 #ada2 power through1 #bjc2 ebb and flow of1 #bcc2 saves1 not doing1 #cjj2 courage forced on1 #cdg4 ,fidelity depends on religion1 #dje4 ,fittest1 survival of1 #i4 ,fleece1 ,gideon's1 #afi4 ,freedom1 cradle of faith1 #he1 #hf1 #ij2 right of the rude1 #beh4 ,free-lance1 #cjd4 ,gibeah1 crime of1 #cdh ,gideon1 #add2 his fleece1 #afi2 his three hundred1 #agc2 kingship refused by1 #aif2 his caution1 #aig2 desire for priesthood1 #aih2 his ephod-dealing1 #bjb2 a storm of ,god1 #bjd4 ,gilead1 its vigour1 #bce4 ,god with man1 #adf4 ,goel1 duty of1 #cih4 ,gospel1 at the gates of1 #dbj4 ,heathenism1 rites of1 #ec4 ,hebrews1 language of1 #ca2 intermixture with ,canaanites1 #fh2 national spirit of1 #bcd4 ,heroism1 #adi4 ,history1 key to1 #e1 #bie4 ,hittites1 #fe4 ,honey from the carcase1 #bhi4 ,humanity1 priesthood of1 #bjh4 ,ideal1 of life1 #bi2 for ,israel1 #dh1 #bdb4 ,idolatry1 #cc2 unpardonable1 #di4 ,intolerance1 moral1 #ced4 ,israel1 mission of1 #ac2 oppressed by ,cushan-rishathaim1 #gb2 by ,jabin1 #ib2 by ,midianites1 #acg2 tribes of1 #ig1 #acb1 #afg2 its idea of ,jehovah1 #ajg1 #aah2 superiority of1 #ee1 #fi1 #ij4 ,jael1 #ajc1 #acd2 her tragic moment1 #aje4 ,jealousy1 tribal1 #bee4 ,jebusites1 #bh4 ,jephthah1 the outlaw1 #bce2 chosen leader1 #bcf2 his peaceful policy1 #bdj2 his vow1 #bdc2 his daughter1 #bdg4 ,jerusalem1 #ae4 ,joash of ,abiezer1 #aef4 ,joshua1 #de4 ,jotham's parable1 #bad4 ,judges1 their vindication1 #eg4 ,justice1 passion for1 #eh2 human effort for1 #ajd2 should be open1 #dab4 ,kenites1 #bd4 ,kingship1 refused by ,gideon1 #aif4 ,kiriath-sepher1 #ah4 ,leaders1 uncalled1 #afc4 ,leadership1 incomplete1 #afa4 ,levites1 #cch4 ,life1 the law of1 #bid1 #bii2 hindrances to1 #bif2 fear hindering1 #big2 complete1 #cad4 ,literature1 #ai2 ,danites of1 #cde1 #cdf4 ,love1 #chj4 ,luz1 #bh4 ,marriage1 #bj2 a failure8 #bd2 rash experiments in1 #bhd4 ,marriages1 mixed1 #ch4 ,master-strokes in providence1 #aeh4 ,meroz1 #acb4 ,micah1 #cce4 ,midianites1 #acg1 #aie4 ,missionary spirit1 #acg4 ,moab1 #gg1 #cfg4 ,moderatism1 #aff4 ,monotheism1 #cb4 ,moral intolerance1 #ced4 ,moses1 #ac1 #ai4 ,motherhood1 #bfh4 ,national church1 #agf4 ,nature1 ,god revealed in1 #aaa-ae2 and supernatural1 #bff4 ,nature-cult1 #db1 #dah4 ,nazirite vow1 #bgf4 ,nomadism1 religious1 #be4 ,opportunism1 #aff4 ,organized vice1 #agi4 ,orpah1 #cgf4 ,othniel1 #bb1 #gc4 ,parentage1 #bga4 ,past1 the1 returning1 #ga2 lessons of1 #daj4 ,pastors1 unspiritual1 #cdd4 ,patriotism1 religious1 #bbf4 ,personal ends engrossing1 #acf4 ,personality1 #ae2 in religion1 #cgi4 ,pessimism1 #bcj4 ,pharisaism1 #ci2 danger of1 #cef4 ,philistines1 #bf1 #fb4 ,philistinism1 #caj1 #cbi4 ,phoenicians1 #fc4 ,polygamy1 #ba1 #cea4 ,polytheism1 its development1 #ed4 ,prayer1 #adb1 #adc1 #bca4 ,predestination1 #bfi4 ,priesthood1 ,gideon's desire for1 #aih2 true1 #bjf2 ,roman ,catholic1 #bdf4 ,prophets1 unrecognized1 #afb2 their preparation1 #bgj4 ,prosperity1 misunderstood1 #chh4 ,providence1 imperfect instruments of1 #eh1 #hd4 ,public office1 #baf4 ,purity1 #cej4 ,reconciliation1 religion always for1 #cie4 ,reformer1 his character1 #aec4 ,reformation1 the true1 #aee4 ,religion1 emotional1 #acj2 and the state1 #cf1 #ge4 ,remnant1 the godly1 #abf1 #aca4 ,repentance1 imperfect1 #dj4 ,responsibility1 #cjj2 in advising1 #cgj4 ,retribution1 #ach4 ,rich1 obligations of1 #cij4 ,rights and duties1 #cj1 #bef4 ,ruth1 her choice1 #cgg2 conversion of #cha2 goodness commending her1 #cib2 her danger1 #dja2 her marriage1 #daf4 ,sacred places1 #cc4 ,salvation1 personal1 #aea4 ,samson1 his loneliness1 #bgi2 boyhood of1 #bhj2 character of1 #bha2 his marriage1 #bij2 his riddle1 #bia2 no reformer1 #cjh4 ,schism1 #cdb1 #cde4 ,science1 dogmatism of1 #aab2 ,danites of1 #cde4 ,self-respect1 #cab4 ,self-sacrifice1 #bdi1 #cca1 #ccc4 ,self-suppression1 #af1 #bea1 #cge4 ,self-vindication1 #ceh4 ,separations in life1 #chc4 ,shechem1 #baj4 ,shibboleths1 of reform1 #bfb2 allowable1 #bfc2 ,christ used none1 #bfd4 ,sibboleths1 of egotism1 #bfj2 of bad habit1 #bfj2 of literature1 #bfa4 ,sisera1 #aja4 ,spiritual brotherhood1 #aea2 strength1 #cba1 #cbd2 service1 #cfi2 pauperism1 #djj4 ,strength and character1 #aic4 ,struggle1 the law of existence1 #aj4 ,success1 sanctified1 #hj2 succeeding1 #ahi4 ,succoth and ,penuel1 #aij4 ,supernatural in human life1 #bfg4 ,temptation1 #bhg2 process of1 #cag4 ,theocracy1 #c1 #df2 ,jotham's idea of1 #bad1 #bah4 ,tribal religion1 #cbh4 ,truth and charity1 #bbh4 ,unscrupulous helpers1 #acc4 ,veracity of the narrative1 #cei4 ,vicarious suffering1 #cee4 ,voluntary churches1 #agf4 ,wars of conquest1 #e4 ,women1 treatment of1 #ba2 their freedom1 #bb2 duties of1 #abe2 social bondage of1 #cgb2 helpless1 #cgc2 submission preached to1 #cge2 problems in their life1 #daf1 #dah4 ,wrong never strong1 #ahb4 ,zephath1 #be4