suspicion of their integrity to arise. The word "perfect" is often used in Scripture as the equivalent of ",vhole," "entire," "complete." "Ma-rk the perfect man;" " Be ye therefore perfect; " "As many as be perfect." I. SINGLE-MINDEDNESS. IS A GREAT SECRET OF SUCCESS IN LIFE. More so now than ever it was, seeing that advanced civilization demands division of labour, and a man can only hope to reach efficiency in one department. Ilemarkablo instances of success achieved on single lines and in particular departments are constantly being given. In science men gain the power of efficiency and exactness by keeping to one branch of a subject; and whate'l'er may be the line in which a young man begins h:s business or studious life, he should be encouraged to keep on in it and achieve success in it. The law of triumph is-This one thing; and this earnestly. II. SINGLE-MINDEDNESS IS THE CONDITION OF .ACCEPTANCE WITH Gon. Illustrate by Elijah's appeal," How long halt ye between two opinions?" Or, "How long will ye be like a restless bird, hopping from twig to twig?" Or from Balaam, who wanted to obey God, but wanted also the offered rewards. Or from Ananias and Sapphira, who wanted the credit of unusually devoted disciples, but wanted also to keep their pro- perty. Sincerity assures the Divine regard. This is the first condition of acceptance. Recognizing this, David prayed, "Search me, 0 God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me." And the apostle has a striking Greek term for the proper attitude of a Christian: he is one who does not fear to be judged standing out in the sunlight (eilikrineis). But this sincerity costs the earnest man his gravest anxieties, because (1) of the peril of self-deception; (2) (he subtleties of the temptations offered by the self; and (3) the constant discovery of mi:xed motives even in the holiest things. Impress that the unity of our whole being in the love and service of One so worthy, and able so thoroughly to absorb all, as the Lord Jesus Christ, ensures this single- mindedness as nothing else can. It should not be difficult for any of us to be wholly his, and accept our life as the sphere of a single-minded and sincere obedience to him. Remember Wellington's answer to the officer who attempted to argue a point with him, "Sir, we do not wish you to argue, but to obey." He had one thing to do,- enough if he did it well Compare St. Paul's "To me to live is Christ."-R. T.
EXPOSITION. (1 Sam. iv. 11, 22), and hurried from Ashdod OHAPTER XIII. to Ekron and on to Bethshemesh (1 Snm. v. 1, 'l'he opening verses of this chapter explain 5, 8, 10; vi. 9-13). For we inquired not at and amplify the compressed announcement it in the days of Saul. The allusion may be considered delicately worded, but an of 2 Sam. vi 1, " Again, David gathered inexpressible pathos and unmeasured con- together all the chosen of Israel, thirty thou- demnation must be imagined as clinging to sand." And the remaining verses (6-14) this sentence, illustrated further by 1 Sam. cover the same ground as 2 Sam. vi. 2-11. vii. 2; xxviii. 6, 15, 16; eh. x. 14. Ver. !.-There can be little doubt that Ver. 5.-All Israel. The parallel gives the captains of thousands and hundreds . . . the number as thirty thousaud moo (2 Sam. with every leader, here spoken of, represented vi. 1, 2). Shihor of Egypt. According to what had become by tbis time a confirmed Gesenius, this Shihor is from root ,nr.; mean- institution, although in embryo, dating from ing "to be turbid" or "black" (~~ Latin the time of Moses at least (Numb. mi.14; melo, from the Greek; Virgil, 'Georg.,' iv. Deut. i. 15; Judg. ::u:. 7; 2 Chron. xx. 21). 278, 291; Catullus, lxvii. 83). There can Ver. 2.-Left in a.11 the land. Some think surely be little doubt that it is the river that this phrase points to the destruction Nile which is here spoken of, after compari- that had been widespread by the Philistines. son of the following passages :-Josh. xiii. Ver. 3.-Let us bring again the ark. It 3 ; Isa. xxiii. 3 ; J er. ii. 18. Though others, had been removed from Shiloh (Josh. xviii. quoting Josh. xiii. 3 and xix. 26, and inter- I) at the instance of "the ciders of Israel " preting Shihor generically as applicable to to their camp, when ih~y were hard pressed onv dark, turbid stream, mako it the modern and smitten by the Pliilistiues (l 8am. iv. • Wady el-Arish. However, tho parallel, I 1-4); there it w11.e taken by 1he Philistines Kingij viii. 65, docs not necessarily dissercr cs. xm. 1-14.J THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 195