world, by ~:hich man's _free will is re~o_nciled with the sovereignty of God. It is mani- frst that, grven the existence of evtl m the world, and g-iven the truth that the Most High doet~ according to his will i_n the army of he1tven and among the inhabitants of the earth, 1t must. be that bad act1~ns as "."ell as_good ?nee subserve and bring about the _purposes of God. That Jacobs deceit obtam~d !us father's blessing, or that the rnahce of the Jews brought about the great sacnfice of the death of Christ are no proofs_that God approve~ either deceit o~ mali_ce, but are merely instances ho~ man's free-will, whether choosmg good or evil, brmgs about the will of God-a truth which, I,owever unfathomable to our reason, we can see to be necessary to the exist- ence of the government of the world. This view, too, while it does not disturb our trust_ in the perfect righteousness of _God, confirms our trust in the absolute sovereignty of his power. lt leaves to the ngh_teous a sen~e of _perfect security amidst the perplexmg spectacles of wrong and wickedness tnumphmg for a time. II. Goon AND EVIL IN THE SAME HUMAN WILL. But are we then to set down Ehud and Jae! among the wicked of the earth? By no means. But we must turn to another difficult problem, the co-existence of good and evil in the same human will. It is a simple fact, borne witness to by profane as well as sacred history that in individuals the main bent of whose character is towards good, a great amo~nt of evil may remain, ~hen sue~ evil is countez:ianced by the public opinion of their day, and by the practice _of t~e1r co_ntemporanes. Just as even wise men retain many gross popular errors m science till they are refuted and exploded by the light of new diRco,eries, so even good men remain unconsciously under the dominion of special evils till some new light has shined upon them and exposed their real nature. The cruelty of our penal laws down to the present century, the existence of the slave- trade and of slavery within onr own memory, persecution unto cruel deaths for religious opinions, the severities of arbitrary governments till exploded in the light of freedom, are familiar examples how things evil in themselves may be approved by good and humane men when they are sanctioned by prevalent custom and by public opinion. And the observation of these and numerous analogous facts teaches us the folly as well as the injustice of judging men of one age by the standard of another. Turning then to Ehud and Jae], we know that in their days human life was not more "\'alued than it is in Afghanistan to the present hour. We know that the life of an enemy was looked upon as a lawful and desirable prey to be seized whenever possible. We know that, in times when the weak have no protection from the strong by the action of law, the only weapon of defence that remains to them, that of cunning and deceit, becomes sharpened by constant use, and is habitually worn at their side. Guile in communities where there is no justice is not the exception but the rule, and feigned blandishments have a tendency to increase the fierceness which they were intended to conceal, when the time for concealment is past. When, therefore, Ehud and Jae! in their respective times saw the people of God whom they loved trampled underfoot by cruel tyrants and oppressors ; when they saw the glory of God in whom they believed profaned by the triumphs of idolatry; when they heard the cries and groans of those who were reduced to bondage and were plundered of the!-r lands; when indignation burnt in their hearts, and the blush of shame rose to their cheek, for the indignities which the people suifered at _heathen hands-can we wonde~ that their generous hearts planned vengeance and dehver~nce, and that the;y accomp_hshed their purpose by such weapons as came to hand. Violence was no crime, deceit was no sin in their eyes. They had not, it is true, the grace to wait in patient faith, and to say " How long, 0 Lord ? " but they had the fervent zeal and the heroic courage to tak~ their li"l'lil!l in their hands and risk it freely for their country and their God. They h::.d the noble spirit of self-s~ci:ifice, seekin~ ~othing for themselve~, r!:ady to give all they had on the altar of religion and patriotism. They had the faith m God which marks the saint, and the disdain of danger which marks the hero. And so he who in bis compassionate estimate of human conduct accepts a ma~ ac?ording to what he hath and not according to what he bath not, accepted their virtues _and covered their sin even as we hope he will accept us when we act up to the hght given to us, even though our best deeds are mixed up with sin, and our holiest works fall immeasurably short of the purity and holiness of God. III. The CONCLUSION WHICH WE THUS ARRIVE AT IS, THAT Gon's rt::RPOSE OF DIILIVEB- CR. Ill. 12- -31.] •rHE BOOK OF JUDGES. 37
ANOE TO IIJB CHUilCH MAY DE ACCOMPLISHED DY DAD MEN AS WELL AS BY GOOD, and by bad as well as good actions; that the degree in which good men fall short of the glory of God varies widely according to their opportunities; and that God graciously accepts the thoughts and intents of loving and faithful hearts in spite of sin com- mitted in ignorance of his will, dealing with men's souls through the infinite merits of the death of his deo.r Son, o.nd with respect to the full satisfaction of his atoning blood-to whom be glory and praise for ever and ever I We learn also to take a juster view of the great figures which are set before us in Holy Scripture. They are not ideal figures or perfect characters. They are faithful delineations of the real lives of men and women who lived two or three thousand years ago; who stood up head and shodders above their contemporaries in certain great gifts and qualities, but who nece~sarily partook of the character of the age they lived in. While we try to emulate their faith, we must judge of their actions by the light of the perfect law of God.