camp are so many proofs upon proofs, like our Lord's appearances after his resurrec- tion, givi,n by God to make his revelation certain, and so many evidences of Gideon's wise caution in aHcerte.ining beyond a doubt that it we.a the word of God which was directing him in this terrible enterprise. In trying to take Gideon's faith as a. model of our own, we must first imitate his ea.re in ascertaining whe.t the word of God really does require of us. The sad mistakes that have been made by misguided men in all ages, confounding the pe.ssionH of their own hearts, or the hallucinations of their own brains, with the requirements of the written word of God, and even in their heated fanaticism imagining that special revelations were made to them by the Holy Ghost, confirms the leoson, given us by Gideon, of not accepting anything as the word of God upon light or insufficient evidence. To accept as the word of God without sufficient evidence any impression, or impulse, or vision, or dream, or interpretation of Scripture, is not a proof of e. strong faith, but an evidence of e. weak, and rash, and credulous mind. We may ple.ce, therefore, as first in order of importance, as well as the first the.t rises to the surface from the history of Gideon, the lesson of taking all due care e.nd caution in verifying the word of God. This implies, circumstanced as we are, diligent and prayerful study of Holy Scripture, so as to be imbued with its true spirit, and to know thoroughly what it requires of us under the various circum- stances of life. But when once the requirements and meaniug of the word of God are plain, then a true faith will obey it, in spite of any sacrifice of worldly interest or self-pleasing which such obedience may incur, and in spite of any risks of worldly evil which may ensue. And the reason is obvious. Faith rest!I upon the perfect goodness and infinite power of God. If once, theref(!re, we know that God commands us to do such or such e. thing, or to leave such a thing undone, we are certain that it is really for our good to do it, however much appearances may be the other way. We are certain too that the power of God is sufficient to bear us harmless through all dangers, however insuperable they may seem to us. It is of the very essence of faith, therefore, to give more weight to the unseen power and love of God than to the visible losses and dangers which threaten to be the result of obedience to God's word, and to make light of sacrifice of worldly advantages, or of selfish interests, in view of that closer communion with God which comes of obedience to his commandments. So Gideon acted, so Abraham acted, and so Moses acted, and thus must we act if we would be reckoned with them. The sacrifices we are called to make and the risks we are called to run by a conscientious obedience to the word of God in all its breadth will probably be much smaller than theirs were; perhaps only the sacrifice of some gratification to our vanity, or some addition to our self-esteem, the risk of some loss to our gains, or some check to our haste to get rich ; but every such sacri- :tice made in the spirit of a true faith, and every such risk run in simple trust to the promises of the word of God, will be accepted of God in his Fatherly love, and will help to make us rich in faith, e.nd to secure our place among the heirs of that kingdom which God he.th promised to them that love him.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 9-15.-The crowning sign. All through this drama the spirit of Gideon was being trained for 11 decisive service. His faith had been tried to the utmost. Alone of all that host had he borne the responsibility of reducing it to 300 men. God's influence upon Gideon was from beginning to end moral and spiritual. I. GOD JUSTI!l'IES HIS w AYS TO 'l'llOSE WHO PUT THEIR TRUST lN HIM. It was a grace that this additional sign should be given. The patience and faith of the servant of God are recognised by a spiritual reward. The deep harmony, hitherto unsuspected, of the steps he had taken at the Divine instance with the process going on and ussisted by God's influence in the minds of his enemies must have, when combined with the circumstances,-the still night, the darkness, the vast host in whose dangerous neighbourhood he lay,-produced a profound impression upon his mind. In such a revelation there is communion and spiritual rapture. It was a reward for all he had passed through. The wisdom of everything was plain. There are times like this in every true life. They come unexpectedly, us a grnce from our heavenly Father. He lends us into his counsels, and confirms us. Obedience leads on to knowledge. JUD\JES. G 82 THE DOOK OF JUDGES.