kind till the pre~cribed te.sk we.s accomplished. Bishop Hall, reganling the num- ber seY~n as md1cat1ve of completeness, tells us that there are mauy of our infirmi- ties wluch we must not expect to oYcrcome till the end of om lives. Not till then will Goel vouchsafe us the measnre of faith to overthrow them finally. Meanwhile we must watch and pray and follow the ark and continue in our round of devotion, until the time comes for God to visit us. \Ve must not be depressed if no signs of progress appenr, if, after he.Ying encompassed the city six days, and six Limes on the seYenth clay, all appears as usu:iL We must patiently wait God's time, and when He announces the hour of tnumph, and not till then, we may rejoice that our enemies are m our power. III. Goo DF.MA~DS THE ABSOLUTE SURRENDER OF ALL CARNAL AFFECTIONS. Jericho and all it contained was to be utterly destroyed. And so, as far as we are concerned, must all the desires of this lower world be put down. No doubt it was a great temptation to the Israelites (A.chan's case proves that it was so) to see so great n store of Yalnable things doomed to destruction. "To what purpose is this waste? " was a question which must have occuITed to many there. So it is 11 sore temptation to the Christian to see this world's goods within his ren.ch 11t1d he forbidden to grasp them. They were intended to be enjoyed, and why should he not enjoy them? Youth seeks af1er the indulgences of the flesh, after recreations and amusements. \fanhood striYes after the prizes of this world-power, wealth, honours, rewards. rhey are innocent in themselves ; why should we not possess them? Because .ruey are devoted. This iloes not refer to pleasures and blessings God has put in our hands. If He has blessed them we may safely use them. But pleasures, and honours, and emoluments for their own sake, things which to"grasp at would lead us from the path of duty-these are the spoils of Jericho, devoted to God, which we may not touch. Self-denial, simple discharge of duty from conscientious motives, and the consequent absence of ambition or greed of gain, willingness to accept the lowest place, disinclination to accept riches, honours, positions of influence, and authority, unless to decline them would clearly be wrong-these are the character- istics of the true servant of God. He makes a holocaust of all vain desires and selfish motives, and is willing to give up the richest p·rizes earth can offer, unless God gives them to him.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 3.-Siege of Jericho.-The Red Sea; a land where there was no water; want of foc1d; terrors of the spies; the warlike people of Bashan; Jordan impos- sible ; a Jericho impregnable. Such are the successive strains made on the faith and resolution of Israel. God's people go from strength to strength, but also from difficulty to difficulty. Never is it the case that the difficulties are entire!}'. done. and the prospects entirely bright. On their newest difficulty let us spend a httle time i for all of us have our J erichos to face and to subdue. And I ask you to observe first, I. THE IMPOSSIBLE TASK HERE BET THEM. I doubt not the stoutest warriors BO estiwated it. Kitto (Pictorial Bible on this chap.) describes, from his own expe- rience of a siege, the confidence felt by aH Asiatics when protected by walls, and the despair with which they face them, even to-day, though in some _degree familiar with the use of artillery. Before that was invented a walled c1~y was deemed almost unredncible, except lJy starvation, by the desultory warriors of Syria. Here they could hardly, without themselves starving, starve thell:1 out. They were unfamiliar with all the science of war. Had no theory-0f sappmll' or breaching to aid them. To leave such a fortress in their rear would be to subJect themselves to attack from that side, while to carry it by assault was utterly beyond their power. An impossible task is set them. And such '!'re many of the ta~ks assigned us. Sometimes, indeed, there are easy duties assigned to ?Ur openrng powers. " The bruised reed is not broken" with a burden beyond its strength. But Dill' duties in this world are always on a scale which assumes we h::we omnipo- tent help within our reach: Abraham's charge to leave ancestral home : that of CH.VI. 1-21.) 'fH:8 BOOK OP JOSHUA. 103