in the fame of tl1Rt family, perhaps, pnrtly in virtue of hereditary qunlities. But e';<'n he is described a~ owing his greatness to God .. 1. Grent men nrc sent by God. \\ hen the people "cned unto the Lord, the Lord ra1se<l up a deliverer." There nre men ''.·ho are born he_roes-men whose g-reat 9ualiti_es are ?wing to their nature, not to their culture or tbeu conduct. He who believes m providence will recognise thnt su_ch men are " raised up " b,r. God. 2. Great men derive their highest powers direcUy_ ~rom G:~d. " The _Spmt of t]1e Lord_ came upon Othniel." The military a_nd poht1cal ab1hty of Othmel_ as ~-amor and Judge are ascribed to a Divine inapira- t10n. All truly great men are msp~red by God. Not only are they originally formed and sent by God, but they owe their powers to the constant influence of God within them: ~ad men of genius_ r~ceiv~ their g~nius from God, and are therefore guilty of prostituting the noblest Dl'Vme gift to evil purposes. Such men attain to no more than an earthly greatness. In the sight of God their low aims destroy the character of heroism which their abilities rendered possible. On the other hand all Christians may attain to ?- 1!1eas~re of greatness in proportion ns_ ~hey r~ceive the Spirit of God ; yet we must d1stmgmsh between the graces of the Spmt, which are for all Christians and the gifts of the Spirit, which are special, nnd bestowed on individual men. ' II. GREAT MEN HAVE A MISSION TO THEIR FELLOW-MEN. 1. Great men areint1'1JSted wi,l,h great talents for the benefit of others. To de,ote these to selfish ends of ambi- tion or pleasure is a mark of gross unfaithfulness. We are members one of another· and that member which has the highest capacities will produce the largest amount of harm if it refuses to perform its :functions in promoting the welfare of the whole body. 2. Great men are needed by the world. The heroic age bas passed, and there is now more power in the general thought and life of men than in primitive times. The work of individual men bas often been overrated when compared with the deep, silent strength of public opinion, and the slow, steady movement of national progress. Yet it is real and large. Christianity would have lived if Paul bad never been con- verted ; the Reformation would have come without Luther. But these movements would have taken a different form, and probably would have made much slower progri>ss without the help of their leading spirits. Great inventors, legislators, reformers have left a distinct individual stamp on the history of our race. Chris- tianity is not a product of the spirit of its age; it owes its origin to the life of the greatest of men. lIL THE MISSION OF GREAT MEN VARIES ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS OF THEIR AGE. In the heroic age of Israel the great men are warriors who deliver the people from the yoke of invaders ; later they appear as kings who lay the foundations of constitu- tional government, e. g. David and Solomon ; later as prophets, &c. Perhaps the gifts for all varieties of excellence exist in every age, but a natural selection brings to light only those which are suitable for each particular age. But possibly there is a prondential economy which shapes the great mnn according to the needs of bis age. In either case it is clear that there is a breadth and variety of Divine inspiration, so that we cannot limit it to any one form of manifestation, nor deny that it may be found in some novel and startling shape as the requirements of the world assume new features.-A.
EXPOSITION. Ver. 13.-The children or Ammon. The remnant of them in the neighbourhood of technical name of the .Ammonite people (aee Mount Scir in the days of Hezekiah (1 Gen. :rix. 38 ; Deut. ii. 19, 37 ; Judges x. Chron. iv. 41-43). The city of palm trees, 6, 11, 17, &c.). Sometimes, however, they i. e. Jericho, asDeut. x.xxiv. 3; Judges i.16. are called .A'ITlll1Ul'fl,, or .Ammun:itea (see Deut. Jericho was the first city in Canaan which any xxiii. 3 ; 1 Sam. xi. 11, &c.). .Amalek, or the one crossing the fords of the Jordan would .Amalekitea, were the hereditary enemies of come to (see Josh. ii. 1; vi. 1, &c.). Though Israel (see Exod. xvii. 8-16; Judges v. 14; no longer a fenced city, it was important from vi. 3, 33 ; vii. 12 ; 1 Sam. xv. 2, &c.). The the fertility of the plain, and from its com- .Amalekites appear, from Geu. xxxvi. 12, to manding the fords . ha.ve beeu a branch of the Edomites, and the Ver. 15.-Left-handed. It was a ;pecu- latest mention of them in the Bible finds a liarity of the warriors of the tribe of Ben1amm en. m. 12--31.J THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 35