HOMILETICS. _',ers. 1-17.-Te~per. . It is impossible to suppose that the whole tribe nf Benja- n,m really SJ'mpath1sed with the foul deed of the men of Gibeah or could have felt othenvise than that such a deed deserved the severest punishn'.ient that could be inflicted. We mu_st s~ek the cause, ther1oret of their desperate resistance to the just decree of the nat10n m some other motive than that of consent to their brethren's "lewdness and folly." Nor is such motive far to seek, We find it in that unreason- able movement of human pride and selfishness which we commonly call temper · a movement which sets up a man's own dignity, self-importance, self-will, self-este~m, above the laws of God, above righteousness, justice, truth, and the law of kind- ness, and yet so blinds him, that in vindication of his own dignity he does the most foolish and degrading actions, lowering himself where he sought to raise himself, making himself ridiculous where he thought to be an object of superior respect. Let us analyse the case of the Benjamites. Had the men of Gibeah belonged to the tribe of Ephraim or Judah, ihey would no doubt have been forward to join in their punishment. Their natural perceptions of right and wrong, their right feelings of the dishonour done to the whole congregation of Israel, the congregation of God, and of the profanation of the holy name of Jehovah, would have led them to wipe out the stain by the punishment of the offenders. But because the offenders were Benja- mites, immediately all these right feelings were stifled, and in their stead the one selnsh feeling that Benjamin would be dishonoured among the tribes, and that they themselves would be degraded in their fellow-tribesmen's shame, was allowed to prevail. Their pride was wounded and their temper was up. Possibly they had not been properly consulted in the first instance ; possibly the message sent to them wns too peremptory and haughty; possibly the other tribes, in their just indignation, had scarcely treated them with the deference due to brethren; and if so, this was fresh fuel added to the flame of temper. But the result was that they were incapable of right feeling or of right judgment; that they were blind to what duty and self- interest alike required of them; and that, under the guidance of temper and stubborn pride, they rushed on to their own destruction, braving the wrath of a body nearly sixteen times as powerful as themselves, and withal tarnishing their own reputation by identifying themselves with the basest villainy. We see exactly the same results of temper on a smaller scale every day around us, Men will not do the right thing, or the just thing, or the wise thing, not because they are wicked and unjust and destitute of good sense under ordinary circumstances, but because their temp_e!'8 ~re up. '.Ilheir false pride blinds and enslaves them. They see a personal hum1hation in the way of acting rightly ; _their resentment again~t in_dividue.ls _for i_nsult ?r wrong done to them stiffens their necks and hardens tlie1r will. If domg i:ight will r,lease them, or promote their interests, they had rather do wrong. They will not do anything they ask, or submit to any of their demands, however just they may be in tLemselves. And as for their own interests, and even their own good name, they ue ready to sacrifice them at the imperious bidding of temper. Much of human unhappiness is caused by temper, which is as injurious to the peace of those who yield to its dictates as to those who are exposed to its outbreaks. It o~ght _not to exist, certainly not to have dominion, in any Christian breast. Fellowsh_1)? with the cross of Christ is the gr~at help in subduing human pride. As real huuuhty grows, CH. XX, 1-17.] THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 201
ns th~ min~ whic~ was if! Christ Jesus i~ more perfectly formed within, ns the old mcin 1s crucified with Chns_t, and_ the desire to do the perfect will of God displaces more nnd more the self-w1II, nnd the glory of God becomes more entirely the aim !!_ought, !n lie!! of self-g_lorificntion, the d_omi~ion of temper becomes enfeebled, till, like a fhckermg flame, it goes out, and IS still before the rising power of the Holy Spirit of God.