nbjootion. And hill trnit shall be a 11.ery oity of Philistia is bidden to howl and flying serpent. The fruit of the oook&trioe lament. All will sutfer; not one will be will be even more terrible and venomou~. spared. Att dia1olved; literally, a,·t melted; He will re,,emble the "fiery flying Berpent" i.e. "fuintest through fear" (oomp. Josh, ii. of the wilderness (Numb. xxi. 6). Senne.- 9; Jer. xlix. 23). There shall oome ftom oherib is, perhaps, this "fruit." He con- the north a amoke. The " smoke II is the quered ABO&lon (' Ancient Monarchies,' vol. Assyrian host, which ravages the country as ii. p. 432) &.nd Ekron (ibid., p. 433), and it advances, burning towns, and villages, and h&d the kings of Gaza and Ashdod among peasants' cots, and watchmen's towers. U hie tributuries (ibid., p. 43S, note 11). enters the country " from tho north," All a Yer. 30.-The fi.l'lltborn of the poor shall matter of course, where it adjoins upon Ju- feed. 'l'he " first born of the poor" are the dma. The coast route, which led through 1:ery poor (Jarchi, Rosenrniiller). The refer- the Plain of Sharon, was that commonly ence is to the poor Israelites, who will followed by Egyptian armies. None shall "feed'' and "lie do\VT\ in 113.fety" when be alone in hill appointed times; rather, t.here Philistia is held in subjection. I will kill shall be no straggler at the rendezvous. thy root with famine, and he shall Blay thy Ver. S2.-What shall one then answer, remnant. G0d kills with famine, man with eto. ? What a.newer shall be made to the the sword (see 2 Sam. xxil". 13, 14). When Philistine ambaes&dol'B, when they come to the Philistines h&d resisted behind their Jerusalem and entreat for aid? Simply strong walls till hun1'er h&d done its work this-that God has founded and will protect by thinning their ranks, the Assyrian con- Zion, and that the poor and weak among queror would storm their strongholds and God's people-whether Jews or Philiet.ines slonghter "the remnant." -had better betake themselves to the llhelte:r Yer. 31.-B:owl, O gate; ory, 0 aity. Each of the'' city of the great King."
HOMILETICS. Vers. 4-23.-Triumph over enemies. The "taunt-song" of Israel, as it has been called (Cheyne), like the "song of Deborah n in the Book of Judges (v.), raises the question how far triumph over a national enemy is a feeling that can be indulged with propriety. There can be no doubt that it is- L A NATURAL FEELING. "'l'he song of Deborah and Barak" expresses the feelings which have usually animated the victors in national contests from the beginning of the world to the present day. The poems of Homer show us the great warriors of the heroic age giving the freest possible vent to their passions of scorn a.nd hatred on such occa.sions. The heroes of Germany.and Iceland indulge in the same strain. North American Indians are sa.id to ha.ve been equally outspoken. The "natural ma.n" would, beyond all question, on every occasion of the kind, give free and unfettered expression to his feelings of triumph a.nd delight, nor would he see any reason for checking his feelings, or making any effort to moderate them. 'There is also a good side to the feeling, inasmuch as it is- IL C01''NECTED WITH THANKFULNESS TO Gon FOB DELIVEBANOE. Jn the song of Deborah and Ba.ra.k, and again in the song of Moses (Exod. xv. 1-21), this is very marked. " Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Hear, 0 ye kings; give ear, 0 ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel" (Judg. v. 2, 3). "The Lord is my Strength and Song, and is become my Salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation ; my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his Name" (Exoci. xv. 2, 3). "Sing ye to the Lord, for he ha.th triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown int.o the sea" (Exod. xv. 21). It is not their own valour, or strength, or prudence, and warlike skill that the Hebrew lead.ere vaunt in their songs of triumph, but the greatness and strength and wisdom of the God who has given to them the victory over their enemies, And so the Christian song of joy for a victory has ever been the "Te Deum "-" We praise tl-.€e, 0 God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord." So long as wars. contin~e, so long as swords are not beaten into ploughshares, or spears into pruning~hooKs (cu. ii. 4), it must be right for the combatants to look to the God of battles f?r aid and countenance and success; and if so, it must be right for them to returo him thimka for bis a.id given, which C&D beet be done by songs of praise and psalms of thanka• (lit, xt'v. 1-3t) THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. M9