HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-8.-Tlte sifting. When we consider the extraordinary reduction of Gideon's army from 32,000 to 300 by a process of winnowing, not merely as an isolatc:d fact, but as a portion of the instruction of God's word, we are at once struck with its ana\ogy, in principle, to other broad teachings of the same Scriptures. Let us first consider the case before us, and then compare with it the analogies to which we allude. I. In a great emergency, at the call of Gideon, 32,000 men with much apparent devotion flocked to his l!tandard. Leaving their homes and their families and their substance, they came forward willingly to meet danger and to endure hardship. To nll outward appearance they were all animated by the same spirit, and might alike be credited with a resolution to die for their country and for their faith. But by and by a test was proposed : " Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart; " and forthwith more than two-thirds of that band shrank from the undertaking. Their hearts failed them; they thought of their homes left unprotected, they thought of the dreadful Midianites and .Amalekites and children of the East, so numerous, so fierce, and so irresistible ; their faith in God was a dead letter; the shame of deserting their comrades was not sufficient to restrain them ; they left the camp and returned, 22,000 in number, to their own homes. But 10,000 remained true to the cause. These faced the danger and stood firm. .Another test was then proposed, which should go much deeper, and sift the very choicest spirits from those of more ordinary mould. Of the 10,000 that remained, only 300 were found whose rigid self-denial, and stern self• discipline, and self-possessed presence of mind, showed them to be of that stamp which was necessary for a hazardous undertaking requiring boldness, endurance, watchfulness, and perseverance to insure success. And these 300 elect were accord- ingly retained to do the work alone ; and they did it. II. Now this is in accordance with THE ANALOGIES both of nature and of Holy ocripture. Take the creation of mankind viewed as intended to glorify God by the proper exercise of the splendid gifts bestowed upon them. Sift them first through a coarse sieve which will only separate the grossly wicked and ungodly, ~nd yet what a large number will thus be found to come short of the purpose for winch they were created. If all the irreligious, all the evil livers, ~.II the impure and vi?lent aI!d unjust among mankind, stand separate, what a comparatively small number will ~emam who seem true to the end of their being, even in outward appearance and m the rough I But if we go on further to sift with a finer sieve, so as to separate the careless, and tl1e selfish, and the worldly, and the hypocrites, and the lukewarm, and so on, and so as to isolate the true saints of God, the little flock, the faithful followers of the Lamb, those who shall shine as tlie sun in the kingdom of their Father, and be to liiro for a name and a praise, alas, how will the number be reduced I Apply the aame method to Israel. The seed of Aliraham were separated from the rest of n11w• CH. \'IT. 1-8.] TllE BOOK 01'' JUDGES. 75
kind to be God's pecnlie.r people, to fulfil a special purpose in the world as witnesses for God's unity ond truth. But, as St. Paul teaches us," they are not all Israel, which 11re of Isrnel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called." There be many called but few chosen. There were the multitude, a disobedient and gainsaying people; and there was the remnant according to the election of grace, who believed the gospel, and who trusted in the promised Messiah and obeyed his voice. Or take the parable of the sower, One lot of seed falls by the wayside, and the fowls of the air devour it; another lot f1Jls on the rock, and is soon burnt up by the scorching sun; a third is choked by the thorns, and brings no fruit to perfection ; it is only one quarter of the seed sown that falls on good ground, and brings forth fruit with patience. Any one looking at the whole sample would have thought it all destined to be fruitful; but lo I only one fourth part comes to anything. Now it is important to note this :-1. With a view to ourselva, tliat we may sift ourselva before any winnowing of God comes unawara upon m. There are states of the world, or states of society, or conditions of outward circumstances, when the grain and the chaff, the wheat and the tares, the good fish and the bad, all pass muster, e.nd there is no marked difference between them. Gideon's 32,000 all pass for good men and true. There come changes of circumstances, there comes a win- nowing of God, events and situations which try men, which test their character, which put their faith, their integrity, their sincerity, their conscientiousness, their principles, to the proof, and presently of the 32,000 only 300 stand finn. Now it is a matter of infinite moment that we should examine our own selves and prove our own selves before such a sifting takes place, Just as workmen try the strength of the iron which is to support a certain weight, and do not leave it to chance whether it shall be found strong enough or not, so ought we carefully to try our own religious J>rinciples, whether they are of a kind that will stand the day of temptation, or of the kind that will break down. It is not enough to come to the front like Gideon's thousands for a moment; are we prepared to stick to our post like Gideon's 300 in the day of conflict and danger? It is not enough to be on the Christian side with the world's multitude for a time; we want that strength and perseverance which will secure our standing with the few when the multitudes fall away. It is important- 2. To notice this lesson of sijling witli a view to forming a correct estimate of tlie probable issues of events. Look at any number of men engaged in any work, secular or religious, that requires steadfastness, tenacity of purpose, fixedness of principle, fortitude to brave danger and meet difficulties, and the probability is that only a small proportion of them will go through with what they have begun. Faint-heart- edness, weariness, fickleness, inconstancy, and clashing considerations, will stop the many midway, and the work, if accomplished at all, will be the work of the few. Especially in work done for our Lord Jesus Christ, for the advancement of his king- dom and for the good of his Church, we must look to the few. The men of prayer, the men of earnest faith, the cross-hearing men, the men whose conversation is i11 heaven, and who are waiting for Christ, are the handful; but they are the men who will fight the real bat.tie, and who, by grace, will win the real victory.