so far as our present topic is concerned, whnt may be the peculiar form or government adopted, or what ml\y be the mode of choosing men for office in the State. For 1. The position such men occupy is an exalted one. It is self-evident that when they have to t.'\ke part in governing or carrying out the laws of tho land, it is of the utmost moment lh:1.t they should be men who are capable of perceiving what meaRurcs will tend to the people's good. A country may be perishing from the want of go0tl laws, if its rulcn; arc not competent, wise, and jnst. 2. The intluenco such men wield in private circles is largely increased from the fact of their public position. 3. Their repre~nt.ati\'e character is another element of great moment. Great men and good will elevate common questions to their own level; while worthless men will fa.ii to appreciate the importance of the greatest questions of the day. 4. The great matters which may-nay, must---<)ome before the rulers of a nation, are such as may involve that nation's honour or discredit among the nations of the world; yen, more, they are such as will do much, according as they are decided, to bring upon a people the blessing or the wrath of Almighty God! Hence- Il. THE POSSESSIO:!S' OF A POWER TO PUT MEN IN SUCH AN OFFICE OR OFFICES, IS A TRUST FOR THE USE OF WHICH THOSE WHO POSSESS THAT POWER ARE RESPONSIBLE TO THEm com.""TRY A:?s'D THEIR Gon ! The decisions of earthly judges ought to be the earthly expression of hea¥enly law. Hence t.o let whim, or caprice, or passioli, or partizanship carry us away, when such concerns are at issue, and to forget the ever- lasting laws of righteousness, is to tamper with the public interest, and to betray a solemn trust. Therefore- Ill. IN THE DISCHARGE OF THIS TRUST, STRICT REGARD MUST BE PAID TO PERSONAL CHARACTER. (Soo Exod. xviii. 21.) Even a pagan felt this. It was the priest of Mi<lian who said, "Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness "-a fourfold qualification, so comprehensive that, where it is possessed, a man may be i:afely entrusted with any office. Such men will undertake their work as those who are responsible to God; they will ever be on the look out to percefre what the interests of their country may require at their hands; they will seek to qualify themselves to take part in the public questions which will come before them; without seeking their. own honour, they will aim at judging as is• wisest and best; and their supreme aim will be that the government they help to administer should be ever in harmony with righteousness and truth. If all its public men answer all these reqwrements, a country cannot go far wrong; but if a nation's leaders are themsekes lacking in virtue, how can there be any security for that righteousness and truth which exalt a nation, when a country is at the mercy of meti who know not the one neither regard the other? IV. A CONSIDERATION wmcH GIVES INFINITE WEIGHT TO, THE ABOVE PRINCIPLES 18 THAT THE Jt;DGME:s'T OF EARTHLY RUJ.ERS IS INTENDED, IN ITS WAY, TO BE A COPY OF THE DITTh""E. "The judgmerit is God's," says Moses. It is God's judgment, expressed through his own appointed officers (see Rom .. :xiii.). Secular judgments should have sacred principles underlying them. And we cannot divorce the secular from the sacred without great mischief accruing. But, finally: the judgment is God's in another sen~e. HE is the Supreme Judge; and whether men use their judgment well or ill, God will exerci.8e his own. The principles of the Divine government of nations are developed by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, and others. No nation can escape from the sway of the Mighty One; if God's laws are set at nought, his judgments will follow, that, while they are abroad in the earth, the inhabitants thereof may learn righteousness,
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS A UTHORB. Vers. 1-B.-Divine covenant and human cond'!let-the two hemispheres of a complete life. l. ~ ELECT MAN, THE BEST OF THE AGE, DEC0ME8 A MEDIUM OF REVELATION BETWEEN Gon AND M.EN. As in nature, so in human life, there are numberless grades of office and of function. At Sinai, we have God, angels, Moaes, priests. The trans- parent candour apd (i.delity of Moses, as a subaltern in God's great host, ie a light to all future ages. Ai> the uncreated light ·left an _abicliug impress on the face of Moses, so UH, I, 1-18,] THE IlOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. 11