the Koran ; and ao in the middle ages the of society. The Talmud states that the use C1L11onised Archbishop Edmnnd Rich (1240) of it ceased forty years before the destruction on his death-bed wasbed a crncifu: in water of Jerusalem (if so, during onr Lord's earthly o.nd drank it, saying, "Ye shall drink water lifetime); but it may be held certain that it from the wella of salva.tion." ceased long before-indeed there is no recorded Ver. 24.-Ke &hall oau■e the woman to instance of its use. It was essentially an drink. This is said by a.nticipe.tion, bece.nee ordeal, although one Divinely regulated, and she did not really drink it until after the as 1111ch would have been morally impossible olfering (ver. 26 ), and highly undesirable in any age but one Ver. 25.-0:lrer it upon the altar. Accord• of blind and nninquiring faith. And we find ing to the law of the minchall (Levit. ii.), the justification of it exactly in the fact that only an handful was burnt as e. " memorial" it was given to a generation which believed (Hebrew, a:zkii,ral,,), the rest being "pre• much and knew little; which had a profound sented," and then laid at the side of the altar belief in magic, and no knowledge of natura.l to be subsequently eaten by the friests. All philosophy. It was ever the wisdom of God, this was done before the actua ordeal by as revealed in the sacred volume, to take men drinking the water, in order that the woman as they were, and to utilise the superstitious. might in the most solemn e.nd complete way notions which could not at once be destroyed,· possible be brought face to face with the or the imperfect mora.l ideas which could not holiness of God. She stood before him as at once be reformed, by making them work one of his own, yet as one suspected and for righteousness and peace. It is, above all, abashed, courting the worst if guilty, cla.im• the wisdom of God not to destroy the im· ing complete a.cquitta.l if innocent. perfect, but to regulate it and restrain its Ver, 27.-Shall enter into her, and be• abuses, and so impress it into his service, come bitter. Rather, "as bitter," or "as until he has educated his people for some. bitterness," i. e. asproducingbittersufl'erings. thing higher. Everybody knows the ex- Shall be a curse, i. e. shall be used as an treme violence of jealousy nlI!ongst an un- example in the impreca.tioll!I of the people. civilised people, a.nd the widespread misery Ver. 28.-hd ehall conceive seed.. As and crime to whlch it leads. It may safely a. sign of the Divine favour; to a Jewish be affinned that any ordeal which should woman the surest and most regarded (1 Sam. leave no place for jeo.lonsy, because no room ii. 5 ; Ps. cxxvii. 3 ; Luke i 58). for uncertainty, would be a blessing to 11 Ver. 29.-Thia is the law ot jealousies. people rude enough and ignorant enough to A law prescribed by God, and yet in sub. believe in it. Ordeals are esta.blished in a stance borrowed from ho.If civilised heathens; certain stage of civilisation been.use they ara a practice closely akin to yet preva.lent super• wanted, and are on the whole useful, M long stitions, and yet receiving not only the as they remain in ho.rmony with popular toleration of llioses, but the direct sanction idea.a. They are, however, always liable to of God; an ordeal whlch emphatically claimed two dangers. (l) They ocCWJionally fail, o.nd to be infallibly opero.tive through super• are known to hnve failed, and so fall into natural yet amongst other nations disrepute. (2) 1'hey alwnys lend themselves obviou itaelfto collusion and fraud, rea.dily to collusion or priestcraft. The trial as does y red water practised by the of jealousy being adopted, 11s it wo.s, into 11 tribes of West .Africa.. In order to justify system really Divine, and being based upon heavenly wisdom horcin, we must frankly the knowledge and power of God himself, admit, to begin with-(1) That it wa.sfounded secured all the benefits of nn ordeal o.nd upon the superstitious notion that immaterial escaped 11.ll its dangers. It is probable virtue co.n be imparted to physical elements. enough tho.t the o.wful side of it wo.s nevel' The holiness of the gathered dust o.nd the really co.lied into plo.y. No guilty womo.11 awfulness of the written curses were both would dare to challenge so direr.tly a visit• supposed to be held in solution by the water ation so dreadful, as loug as she retained o.ny of Jee.lousy. The record does not say as fnith or o.ny superstition. Before the time much, but the whole ordeal proceeds on this come when o.ny Jewish woman ho.d disco.rded supposition, which would undoubtedly be the both, the increasing facilities of divorce had populo.r one. (2) Tho.t it WM only fitted for provided o.nother and eo.sier escape from a very rude nnd compsrati vely bo.rbarous sto.te mo.trimoniol troubles.
HOMILETICS. Ve1'8. 11-31.-T/ie sin of adulte:,•y. We have here, in the letter, o. piece of legislation altogether obsolete, because adapted to an age and to ideas utterly foreign to our own; yet, in the spirit, we have, as part of the moral law of God which cbangeth not, the unspeo.kable abhorrence in which the sin of adultery ia held with 42 THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. Lee. v. 11-31.