HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Yers. 11-15.-The pnW,e spiri,t <!f Cale~. H~ offered his ~aughter to the soldier ~-ho should be suc~essful m destroymg the mhab~tants of Deb1r. It was of supreme importance that this stronghold should be taken, 1f the rest of the district was to be peaceably held. But some reward was required in order to stimulate the heroism of his followers to face the hazard and dang·er of the enterprise. \Ve have here then- I. AN IDEl\'TIFICATION OF HIMSELF WITH THE INTERESTS OF HIS TRIBE. Caleb was an Edomite, and might have enjoyed his own lot without such special effort or sacrifice. He is evidently deeply interested in the welfare and honour of his adopted tribe. This might he called a signal illustration of public spirit. And yet it is probable that Caleb himself was quite unconscious that there was anything singular in his action. As the greatest blessings to a na~ion arise from the p_ublic s~irit of its citizens, so the greatest curses are frequently entailed by the want of 1t. As m warfare every soldier however insignificant, is an influence that tells upon the success or failure of the c~mpaign so in a go,ernment, with representative institutions whose action binds the nation and measures its progress, it is requisite that every citizen should actively interest himself in electing and supporting the legislative authority. The free play of an intelligent generous, and enthusiastic public criticism will tend to the health of the whole body politic, and vice versa. Even more cogent is the need for public spirit in the church. Its honour and dishonour are ours, its success or failure. And it represents interests of the most tremendous importance. " England expects every man to do his duty" is a sentence of historic importance. Although not called upon to preach, or even to pray in public, the private member of the church ought to regard the affairs of Christ's kingdom with enthusiasm, and be prepared to make great sacrifices for its ad,ancement : II. HIS PROOF OF THIS IN BESTOWING ONE OF HIS MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSIONS. We do not know much about Achsah, but probably she was very beautiful. Her forethought and carefulness are described in the fourteenth and fifteenth verses. She was his only daughter, born to him in later life ( 1 Chron. ii. 49). That she was dear to her father we may take for granted. How much a daughter may be to a father history has frequently nnd strikingly shown. The grief of Jephthah for the consequences of his rash vow is recorded in this very book. Apart from the personal attractions of Achsah, the influence which might be obtained by intermarriage with the family of Caleb is not to be ignored. III. lT WAS A SACRIFICE WHICH HAD IN IT 'l'HE SECURITY FOR ITS OWN REWARD. An offer like this was an appeal to the chivalry of the tribe. It suggested vividly that on account of which the bravery of the warrior is so necessary. The soldier who stormed such a fortress was sure to possess the noble and manly qualities and the relicious zeal calculated to make a good husband. So in political and spiritual mattert generous offers and challenges appeal to what is noblest in the nature of men, and secure a loftier and more heroic response.-M.
Vers. 14 15.-Compensations. Of the wisdom and carefulness of .Achsah we have here ~bundant proof. They were nobly and honourably exercised. She is the daughter of a rich man, and becomes the bride of a brave soldier who had evidently little but his ~word and his reputation to boast of. She is jealous lest he should be rewarded with a mere titular distinction. He has been nobly oblivious of material rewards she shall be proportionably watchful over his interests. She therefore urges h~r husband as he passes in triumph to Hebron t~ ask !or the !ield through which they march. The thou_ghts of the hero are not to_ be directed. mto any such sordid channel But she, taking advantage of the occasion as she lights from off her ass, asks her father in symbolic language to compensate her ~or the P?verty to which he had consigned her. "Thou hast given me a south land (i. e. roamed me to a poor younger son); give me also springs of water." To this reaso1_1able request Caleb makes generous response. "She slides from her ass, suddenly, as 1f she fell, so that her father asks 'What is the matter with thee?' Her answer has a double sense, 'Thou gavest 'me away into a dry land; give me also springs'" (Cassel). CR. J. 8-20.) THE BOOK OF JUDGES.