Ver. 14. - .l,,i,terary occupatwn8. Whether these men of Zebulun were poets, chroniclers, or only merchants' clerks, their occupation was distinctly different from that of their brethren, and the peculiar duties attaching to it may serve to illustrate those which belong to a corresponding class of men in our own day. I. LITERATURE IS A FIELD OF HONOURABLE INDUSTRY. It is a foolish misnomer which characterises handicraftsmen as the only "working men." Men can and do work at least as Lard with their brains as with their hands; and such work is not the most unworthy of honourable effort. We cannot make a greater mistake than to confine the epithet "manly" to the exercise of brute force, an exercise in which a Hercules would be out-matched by a gorilla. True manliness is the right development of all the noblest powers of a man, among which the intellectual must take a high place. II. LITERATURE MAY llE MADE A SOURCE OF THE HIGHEST GOOD TO MANKIND. Writing is a means of expressing, preserving, and disseminating ideas. This means has been chosen by God for the promotion of religion, viz., in the Bible. Therefore it is foolish to despise literature as unpractical; it may be the most useful instrument for benefit- ing man.kind. This should be remembered by those who have literary power, and should prevent them from wasting their talents on the selfish enjoyment of intellectual luxury. Literary ability is, like the gift of tongues, a Divine gift bestowed on men for the good of the whole world. !II. IN ORDER THAT LITERATURE MAY EFFECT THE GREATEST 000D1 IT MUST llE ENLISTED IN THE SERVICE OF Goo. They who "handle the pen of the writer" mus~ be among those who" willingly offer themselves" to the service of the Lord. God claims our best for his work. Men who have literary gifts should understand that they are not at liberty to write simply for occupation, for amusement, for money, or for fame, but for the honour of God and the good of men. Such considerations should ~ecure more conscientiousness in writing; the observance of the great literary duties of truthfulness, fairness, purity, and charity; and the pursuit of eleYating themes. IV. THEY wno ARE CALLED TO LITERARY DUTIES MUST NOT FEEL THEMSELVES EX- ONEllATED FROM MORE GENERAL OBLIGATIONS. The literary man must sometimes lay down the pen and draw the sword. The danger of sedentary and literary oc~npations is that they should lead to indolence and an unpractical habit of life. It will not do for anv of us to live in the delicious seclusion of dream-land. There are stem tasks 0
and se rious burdens which all true men will have to encounter if the terrible realities of the world's wickedness and misery are to be faced as the claims of God and humar,ity demand of us. While the trumpet sounds to war it is treason for the me11 uf Zebulun to linger behind in learned leisure; and while God calls his people to do ~It. \", 1--31.J 1.'Ht BOOK OF JUDGES. 55
battle for him against the ignorance and sin of the world, there is no excuse for the most gifted, the most fastidious, or the most occupied to shirk their share of the dangers and toils of hard warfare.-A. Ver. 16.-lndolent indecitrion. The men of Reuben who refused to obey the call to arms appear to have indulged at once in questioning criticism and in selfish inactivity, and thUB they illustrate the close association of indolence and indecision. Indolence encourages indecision by checking the energy requisite for choice, and indecision encourages indolence by closing all doors of action. The situation of indolent indecision may be considered from the point of view of indolence and from that of indecision. I. THE SITUATION REGARDED ON THE SIDE OF INDOLENCE. 1. Private business was one excuse for negligence of public duty. People often make their business an excuse for not undertaking the work Christ calls them to (Matt. xxii. 5). But this results either (1) from idleness, since more energy would make time for Christ's service, or (2) from selfishness, inasmuch as we have no right to devote our whole time to our private interests. 2. Love of ease led to negligence of public duty. It was less arduous to tend the flocks than to assemble for war. 3. Love of peace may have had the same effect. The Reubenites may have been peculiarly men of peace, while the Ephraimites were men of war. There are times, however, when the peace- ful habit is sinful, and when we are only hiding our indolence under the cloak of peace, and when it is our duty to take up the cross, which is involved in facing the confusion and harshness of conflict. It is wrong to refuse to maintain the right and to rebuke falsehood and wickedness out of the love of peace. 4. Pleasure may have inclined to indolence. That was no time for dreaming pastoral idyls when the nation was in jeopardy and a Deborah was sounding the war-trumpet. Music and poetry, and the love of nature and art have their place among the innocent amenities of life ; but when restheticism becomes a religion, and the graces of life take the places of its duties, the harmless pleasures which allure us from stem tasks become positive sins. The wretchedness, the vice, the crime which darken the very atmo- sphere of Christendom leave none of us free to luxuriate in soft dreams of imaginary bliss, instead of doing our utmost to conquer these hideous monsters. II. THE SITUATION REGARDED ON THE SIDE OF INDECISION. 1. Indecision is often the effect of directing intellectual energy to negative criticism rather than to practical contrivance. Criticism is most valuable in its place ; but when it is carried to the point of fastidiousness it becomes nothing less than a fatal, paralysing influence. Reuben was divided in counsel, uncertain a~ to the best course to pursue, and there- fore did nothing. So there are people who waste their energies in exposing the defects of all plans of action, and yet have not the inventiveness and strength to discover and pursue better plans. But it is better to work in an imperfect method than not to work at all. 2. Indecision can only be conquered by cultivaLing strength of will and convictions of duty It is the will that decides. When the intellect is cultivated at the expense of the will, moral paralysis is the result. Strength of will can be best attained in its right form by the exercise of what will we already have under convictions of duty. We should remember that our chief mission in the world is not criticism, but work. God calls us to action and even if we work imperfectly and often fail, he will be better pleased at our weir-meant, though perhaps mistaken, efforts to do what we believe to be right than at the inactivity which refuses to do anything from fear of committing the smallest error.-A.