HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-23.-International relationships. The wilderness state is the most salutary for men. Prematurely to enter into the land of rest woul,l prove an endless calamity. Theoretically, it is possible to gain heaven too soon. Even "the Captain of our salv:i.- tion was matlo perfect through suffering." That heaven may be to us a perfect paradise, there must bo complete harmony between t,be soul and its environment. I. GoD DIIINGS NATIONS INTO CONTACT FOR RECIPROCAL MINISTRATIO~. So long as the conviction ·prevails that distinct nations arc natural foes, it is best for them to remain apart. Mountains and seas and languages are God's bulwarks of peace. Yet this is but a temporary arrangement. Nationality has its use, but is liable to great abuse. God has given a monopoly of blessing to no one nation, that all may feel mutual interdependence. 'l'ho products of nalure are the property of all; yet personal interests aro to be respected. 'l'he life-long enjoyment of Divine boW1ty should mak(J us grateful, modest, antl benevolent. II. COMMERCE WITH OTHERS AN OCCASIO~ FOR SELF-CONTROL. We are often ignorant of the selfishness and arrogance of our owu hearts, until our material interests conrn into seeming conflict with the interests of others. In the presence of a stalwart foe, our courage or our cowardice is made manifest. \Vo know not whether good seed or ba,l lies in our fields, until tho summer sun makes them spring. On the whe-=l of the lapidary the qualities of the jewel are revealed. Such occasions for knowing ourselves -testing oursel vcs-discip\ining and controlling ourselves, must be highly prized. The ruler of his own nature, especially under sore provocation, is a genuine victor. III. Oun SUPERIOR STRENGTH AFFORDS NO WAR!lANT FOR VI0LE1'T CTVASIO.::-s. Might has a terrible pi-oneness to warp our sense of right. Unless might is penetrated through and through with a spirit of righteousness, it is n bo,ly without a soL1l; it soon becomes a despicable corpse. Mero strength gives to no man, and to no body of men, warrantable authority to rule. It is base and self-degrading for strength to trample on ~veakness. Heal strength displays its latent reserves when it stoops to protect-when it e11tlnrcs rather than contends. Violence is essential weakness, the scarecrow of 1iowcr. lV. Oun NATURAT, RELATI0~SIIJPS HAVE A CLAIM UPO~ OUR REGA!lDS. What God. hath constructed, man may not wantonly destroy. \Vo aro to" honour all men," but to" love tho brotherhoo,l." We may send our portions of sympathy to the uttermost circumference of tho human circle, but we are to reserve a double portion for kimlro<l. THE BOOK OF DEU'l'EHONOMY. [en. II, 1-37.
Rpiritnnl lies arc superior to nll the bonds of nnture, but they nee,l not bo sepnrnte and distinct,. The 1iafllral may, yea ought, to be the foundation on which tho spiritual relationship is lmilt. He who aflirmcd that "all who did the will of his Father wcro !,is nwther, sisters, brothers," ~nid also ns he commended his human mother to his disciple's care, "Behold thy mother!" Y. A SENSE OF Gon's PRESENCE FOSTERS SELF·ADNEGATION. Becauso we have so many proofs that God is about us, safeguarding our interests, wo shall not bu so auxious to extort our fancied rights. "He is at my right hand: I shall not be moved," "Lot your rn-Jderntion be known unto all men: the Lord is at band." \Ve have an all-wise, nil-mighty, and omnipresent Defender; therefore we will not fear. \Ve will not avcn"'o 0 ~ccmiui:- injuries: the Lord doth fight for us. "Vengeance is his." YI. Tm: DISPLACEMENT OF SUCCESSIVE RUMAN RACES IS AN OilDINANCE OF Goo. Thwughout the entire plan of God's providence the same law is manifest. In the formation of the earth's crust we see that one order of life passed awo.y-another order appeared. This phrase of God's procedure science has labelled "the survival of the :fittest." Is man the final link in this magnificent series? All oracles are dumb. Yet this law of successive development is apparent everywhere. History and ethncloay record the facts; the Bible ascribes them to the personal God. Whatever were the motives or the passions which prompted Esau to evict the Horims, or Moab to displace the Emims, or the Caphtorims to dislodge the Avims, this much is plain-that the hand of the Lord wrought behind the human machinery. Bad as some of these races seem to have been, they were, without doubt, an improvement on the preceding. "First that which is natural ; afterward that which is spiritual." The world's amelio- ration may be waiting for our removal. VII. THE DEATH OF UNITS PROMOTES TRE WELFARE OF THE NATION. The patience of Jehovah is conspicuous in that he did not destroy the murmurers and recusants in Israel with a stroke. He used them still as the natural protectors of the younger members, and when these reached maturity of courageous faith, the older portion fell away, like useless husk and chaff. As in the human body, so long as cellular tissue dies and is replaced by fresh development, there is health; so in the race, the removal of effete elements secures the advancement of the wholll. Yet it is not inevitable that the separate units of mankind should absolutely perish. -The same law of development may prevail in each separate person. The inferior parts of our being may minister to the growth of the higher. The outward man, like the husk, may perish, while, withal, the inner man may be renewed daily, and be fitted for a higher plane of existence. r:leath is the gate of life. VIII. Goo 'EXTENDS A WATCHFUL SUPERINTENDENCE OVER ALL THE NATIONS OF 'l'HE "i:AllTH. '.l'he children of Ammon rose in arms against the Zamzummims, and defeated them, yet (though they knew it not) it was Jehovah who destroyed their foes. God has a thousand va1ious methods for ruling a nation's career and destiny. Because Britain has come into a larger heritage of blessing than other empires, or because many of the British people consciously recognize the sceptre of Jehovah, we may not conclude that the Zulus or Papuans are not equally overruled by him. "His kingdom ruleth over all." Respecting Cyrus, King of the Medes, God said, "I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." There is an unseen and an unrecognizcd sceptre directing all the movements of the world, controlling and restraining even wickedness itself! Th€1 errors of the heathen are, after all, partial truths, and God is leading their minds onward from obscurer to clearer light. Sometimes, we must admit, there is a temporary sub- mergence-the advancing light is for a time eclipsed by a wave of darkness. Never- theless, through long periods of human history, we can for the most part discover progress. Eternity is God's abode, and we discern but fragments of his work.-D.