grcnt Army. One ovcrcon1es external foes or etc.). As by this mc1ms mnn's agency was obstacles; the other conquers himself; as minimized, aud all partiality nnrl chicanery it is said, And he that ruleth his spirit were excluded, the decision wns n,ga1·ded than he that taketh a city (oh. xxv. 28). as directed by Providence. 'l'here is one 'Pirke Aboth,' iv. 1, "Who is the hero? caso only of ordeal in tho Law, nud that The man that restrains his thoughts." under suspicion of ndultery (Numb. v. 12, l\foii:ims about self-mastery are comruon etc.). In the Epistle to the Hebrews, in enough. Says an unk-nown poet, " Fortior place of the lot we read (vi. 16), "An· est qui se quam qui fortissima vincit oath for confirmation is to them an end of Mmnia, nee virtus altius ire potest." So all strife." The whole disposing thereof Publ. Syr., 'Sent.,' 795, " Fortior est qui is of the Lord. In these cases the Jew cupiditates suas, quam qui hostes subjicit." learned to see, in what we call chance, the And the medirovaljingle- overruling of Divine power. But this was " Lingaam frrenare not blind superstition. He did not feel Plus est quam castra domare." justified in resorting to this practice on every trivial occasion, as persons used the At the end of thiil verse the Alexandrian Sortes Virgilia'lllll or even the verses of Manuscript of the Septuagint, followed by the Bible for the same purpose. The lot later hands in some other uncials, adds, was employed religiously in cases where "and a man having prudence [is better] other means of decision were not suitable than a great farm." or available; it was not to supersede com- Yer. 33.-The lot is oast into the lap. mon prudence or careful investigation; but, The bosom or fold of the garment (eh. vi. for example, in trials where the evidence 27; xdi. 23; xxi. 14). It is not quite clear was conflicting and the judges coald not what ai-ticles the Jews used in their divina- determine the case, the merits were ascer- tions by lot. Probably they employed tained by lot (comp. eh. xviii. 18). After stones, differing in shape or colour, or ha,ing the effusion of the Holy Spirit, the apostles some distinguishing mark. These were never resorted to divination, and the Chris- placed in a vessel or in the fold of a tian Church has wisely repudiated the prac- garment, and drawn or shaken thence. tice of all such mocles of discovering the Such a practice has been common in all ages Divine will. Septuagint, "For the un- and countries; and though only cursorily righteous all things fall into their bosom, mentioned in the Mosaic legislation (Numb. but from the Lord are all just things,'' which xxvi. 55), it was used by the Jews from the may mean either that, though the wicked time of Joshua, and in the earliest days of seem to• prosper, God still works out his the Christian Church (see Josh. xviii. 10; righteous ends ; or the evil suffer retribu- J udg. x.x. 9; 1 Sam. L 20, 21 ; Acts i. 24, tion, and thus God's justice is displayed.
HOMILETICS. Ver. 1.-Man's thought and Gori's work. Theology and philosophy have ever been confronted with the problem of the inter-relation of the Divine and the human in life. If God is supreme, what room is there for man's will, thought, and individual personality? If man bas freedom and power, how can God be the infinite Ruler and Disposer of all things? It may not be possible to reconcile the two positions. But it mUilt b11 unwise to ignore either of them. If we cannot mark their confines, we can at least observe the contents of the domain of each. I. MAN HAS FREEDOM OF THOUGHT. "Man's are the counsels of the heart." Though externally constrained by circumstances, he is free to roam at large in the ample :fields of imagination. The mind has a certain originative power. It is well-nigh a creator of thoughts--at least it can select the ideas that occur to it, arrange them, draw deductions from them; or it can let its fancies grow into new shapes; or, again, it c::m organize schemes, project plans, formulate purposes. Now, this liberty and the power it implies carry with them certain momentous consequences. 1. We are responsible for our thoughts. They are all known to God, and they will all be j ndged by him. Let us therefore ta.ke heed what follies and fancies we harbour in our most secret "chambers of imagery." 2. We may exercise power with our thoughts. 'l'hese thoughts are seeds of actions. Inasmuch as we can direct them, we can turn the first springs of events. Here it is in this inner workshop of the mind, that a man must forge his own future, and strik~ out works of public good. 3. We cannot be coerced in our thoughts. The tyrant_may fling a man into a dungeon, but he cannot destroy the convictions that aro CH, XVI, 1-33.] 'l'HE PROVERBS. 317