was bulH, and not from Omri, tho king who built it, B.c. 925, it continned to be the CRpHRI of th_o ten tri~es for _tw~ centuri88 till t~eir carrying away by Ahalmaneser, n.o. 720, durmg all wluch pono,l 1t was the &eat of idolatry. 'l'he site of thiH cclebra.ted capital was ono of rare o.ttrnctivene88; it combined Rtrength, beauty, and fertility. It is "delightful," says 'fhomBOn, " by universal consent. It is a very l1u<1e i110lat,,.,d hill rising by eucccReive terraces at leMt six hundred feet above the valley;' that surround it. In Ahape it le oval, and the smaller and lower end unites it to the neighbouring mounto.in on the east." Rebuilt by Herod, it received from him itB later name of HobnRtia, now Bebueteyeh, in honour of Augustus. "During the twenty-five centuries which have passed since the Captivity, its fortunes have been very various; often destroyed, again rebuilt, growing smaller by degrees, though not beautifully less, until it finally subsided into the insignificant village which now clings to the name and the site." Its site and sin are similarly described by Stanley: "On that beautiful eminence, looking far over the plain of Sharon and the Mediterranean Sea to the weRt, and over its own fertile vale to the east, the kings of Israel reigned in a luxury which, for tho very reason of its being like that of more Eastern sovereigns, was sure not to be perma- nent in a race destined for higher purposes." 3. The ruinous nature of sin. Of the ancient capital of Ephraim, long" the nursery of idolatry and rebellion against God," not even a wreck remains, nor a ruin to remind one of its ancient glory. See what ruin sin has wrought I "All the evil in the world may be seen in sin. . . . Sin dries up all our springs, et.ops our fountains, spoils our treasures, and robe us of all our pleasant things--our pleasant land, our pleasant food, our pleasant raiment, our pleasant houses, pleasant children ... and therefore, when anything goes amiss with ll.8 1 we should search for the sin that has done us mischief; find out the Achan that has caused the trouble; find out the Jonah that has raised the storm; do justice on the one, and drowu the ot-her, and we shall have peace."
HOMILIES BY V ARIOUB AUTHORS. Vere. 1-B.-Ephraim, living and dead. This passage portrays anew the dreadful prevalence of apostasy and idolatry throughout the nation. "The same strings, though generally unpleasing ones, are harped upon in this chapter that were in those before " (Matthew Henry). Much of the imagery continues to be anthropopathic; the prophet exhibits an apparent tumult of contending passions in the Divine mind towards unfilial and rebellious Ephraim. I. EPHRAIM WAS ONCE ALIVE. He had been so, both spiritually and temporally. The time was when the tribe of Ephraim, and the other nine tribes over which it cast its shadow, contained many God-fearing families. Joshua, the illustrious hero who led tho Hebrews into Palestine, was of this tribe; and to him, doubtless, it owed not a little of its subsequent eminence. The "life" which once dwelt in Ephraim was reflected in: 1. God's mercies towards him. (Vers. 4, 5.) The Almighty set his love upon Israel; and "in hie favour is life " (Ps. x.xx. 5). God had manifested himself to hie people in the Exodus from Egypt. He "did know Ephraim in the wilderness ; " he visited him there in pity and love-revealing his will at Sinai, feeding the people with manna, bringing them water out of the rock, leading them by the cloudy pillar, and delivering them from their enemies. He "led Joseph like a flock," and at last "made him to lie down in the green pastures" of Canaan-a land which was "the glory of all lands." 'l'he Lord had set up his tabernacle in Ephraim; for Shiloh was a city of that canton, and the sacred tent remained at Shiloh for upward:! of three centuries. 2. His own influence. (Ver, 1.) "When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel." In the early days of the nation Ephraim had been the most powerful of the twelve tribes. Long bcforo the lamentable disruption of the Hebrew state, it had exercised a sort of control over the other~. It had a high reputation, and commanded unfeigned respect. At length Ephraim b~came itself a kincrdom, and as such Recmed for o. time strong and prosperous, and was regarded by Jn<l~h as a formidable rival. II. EPHRAIM 1s NOW DEAD SPIRITUALLY. Spiritual life consists in union with Jehovah, and is maintained by comruuuiou with him. But siu se1iarates froill God, THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [ea, xm. 1-18.