before it was adopted into biblical religion, Shaddai meant, "God the Sender of storme.n 1'he connection of this physical figure with the term" Almighty" is very plain, for the Controller of the heavenly forces can surely do everything: the greater implies the leBS, and the great of-which we know is so great that the mastery of it; assures to us tha, there must be ability to master what we do not know. I. TH!l: TERM "MOST MIGHTY" AS APPLIED TO EARTHLY KINOB. It is quite the usual form in which the worth-ship of subjects is presented, and it was especially used of the monarchs of vast Eastern kingdoms, who.ruled by an absolute authority. It was not, however, a mere high-sounding title; it gathered up the very various sides of kingly greatness, and put them into a single term. We may illustrate now it found expression for (1) supreme rank, (2) exalted dignity, (8) vast extent of dominion, (4) ready and hearty allegiance of subjects, (5) strength of forces, (6) and absoluteness of will. It may also have embraced administration of august character. II. THE TERM " ALL-MIGHTY,, AS APPLIED TO THE KING OF KINGS. The term "almighty" rises above" most mighty," and can be truly applied to God alone. The above divisions may be taken, in which great earthly kings are said to be "most mighty," and, as applied to God, they may help us to realize the senses in which he is "all-mighty." And occasion may be made for urging the reverence which is due to him; the awe he claims, which should make "aU the earth keep ~ilence before him." It may be well also to meet the difficulty, that God cannot do absolutely everything, by showing that he can do everything which is not, under the conditions of human thought, absurd in the statement, such as make two straight lines enclose a. space, or two and two count five.-R. T. Ver. 12.-The preciousness of man. · Matthew Henry gives very clearly the first ideas and associations of the passage. "1'here shall be so great a slaughter as will produce a scarcity of men. You could not have a man to be employed in any of the affairs of state, not a man to be enlisted in the army, not a man to match a daughter to, for. the building up of a family, if you would give any money for one.n Such a comparison of man with gold would only be suggested to persons familiar with the sale and purchase of slaves. The irony, or satire, in the comparison lies in the over-estimate of gold in a luxurious age. It is a sad sign for any nation when its " gold of Ophir" is valued more than its men. The second clause having the more general term" hnman being," we are reminded that it is man as man, and not man in view of his learning, position, manners, or wealth, that the prophet regards as of incomparable value. The position of Ophir is disputed, but J. A. Alexander points out that" whether the place meant be Ceylon, or Rome part of continental India., or of Arabia, or of Africa, it is here namad simply as an Eldorado, as a place where gold a.bounded, either as a native pro- duct or an article of commerce.'' 1'he older idea of the word rendered "precious " was making dear or costly; the modern idea is making rare or scarce. The expression may fittingly introduce the general topic of the value of men, for only in view of their value can their scarcity be treated as a matter of anxiety. That value may .be set forth as to be recognized- I. IN HIS MORAL NATURE. He differs essentially from the material and animal crea- tions. Not in possession of mind, but in capacity to apprehend the distinction between right and wrong, and in power to -;vill the right and refuse the wrong. This is what we mean by a moral nature. The animRl may decide its action upon some sort of consideration of the consequences, pkasurable or painful, that may attend on its conduct. Man does not merely act in view ot consequences; he estimates the character of the action, judging it in the light of what he apprehends of God, as, to him, the ideal of righteousness. As a moral being, then, man transcends all creatures, and there can be no possible comparison of him with any material thing, even the finest gold of Ophir. 'fhis moral nature belongs to all men everywhere, and cannot be overlaid, or crushed wholly out, by any poverty, ignorance, or debasement of vice. The man is always a man, and to his moral nature God, and his fellow moral beings, may always hopefully appeal. II. ht ms POSSIBILITIES FOR GOOD OR EVIL. He must be a precious being who can rise to be as saintly as some have become, and can sink to be as Satanic as others have become. Dr. Horace Bushnell has a fine sermon in 'New Life,' p. 16, entitled," 'l'h@ JB4l4Jl. B UI THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [011. xm.1-22.
Dignity of Human N11tme shown from its Ruins," · After speaking of many who "rn11~11ify the dignity of human nature, by tracing ita capabilities, and the tokens it reveals of a natural affinity with God and truth. They distinguish lovely instincts, powers, and properties allied to God, aspirations reaching after God," he uudertakes to "show the essential grratness and dignity of mnn from the ruin itself which he becomes;" and then he says," Nor is it anything ne,v, or a turn mo1-e ingenious than just, Lhat we undertake to raise our conceptions of human nature in this manner, for it is in just this way that we are accustomed to get our measures and form our conceptions of many things; of the power, for example, of ancient dynasties, and the magnificenco of ancient works and cities, such, for example, as Egypt, Home, Thebes, Karnoc, Luxor, or :N'ineveh. So it is with man. Our most veritable, though saddest, impressions of his greatness, as a creature, we shall derive from the magnificent ruin he displayed. In that ruin we shall distinguish fallen powers that lie as broken pillars on the ground; temples of beauty, whose scarred and shattered walls still indicate their ancient, original glory; summits co,·ered with broken stones, infested by asps, where the palaces of high tbou~bt and great aspiralion stood, and righteous courage went up to maintain tbe citadel of the mind-all a ruin now-archangel ruined." ,ve estimate the value o£raw material by "what can be made of it." On that condition man is seen to be. more precious than aught else; he may be changed into the Divine ,image, froD) glory to glory. III. IN HIS IMMORTALITY. Man's natural immortality is gravely disputed· in these days, but an opinion on that difficult subject is not necessary in the treatment of this subject from our present point of view. It is poS$ible for man to become immortal, and that stamps his incomparable value. Continuity is a common sign of value; but, further than that, the being who can be immortal must have capacity for immortal spheres. In conclusion, it may be shown that the preciousness of man, or the sanctity of human life, is the foundation of social order, and the inspiration of human brother- hood and self-denial-R. T. , ,