water out of his buckets," is understood by some persons to refer to machines, in which water was raised by a number of buckets, it points out the future flourishing state of Israel.

My readers will recollect the curse denounced against man after the fall, Gen. iii. 17-19, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread:" that is, By hard labour shalt thou procure it. We see this curse fulfilled to the present day; the ground, if left to itself, every where brings forth thorns and thistles, and other weeds. In like manner the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil; and, unless God prevents, will only do wicked works. This is an awful consideration: it should remind us of the importance of looking to Jesus for pardon and peace, through the blood which he shed upon the cross, which, by the Holy Spirit, is of power to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Let us pray earnestly, that God the Holy Spirit may sanctify our hearts, "lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble us ;" and may we all be " filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God," Heb. xii. 15; Phil. i. 11.

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At first, men probably dug the earth, and had few or no tools or implements to assist them. Noah is spoken of as a husbandman," Gen. ix. 20; perhaps he contrived ploughs and other instruments of agriculture. We find ploughs mentioned by Moses, Deut. xxii. 10, when he is referring to an idolatrous custom of the heathen; also by Job, iv. 8. The prophets Jeremiah, iv. 3, and Hosea, x. 12, mention ploughing up the fallow ground. Job, xxxix. 10, speaks of harrows, which are also noticed in other passages of Scripture. Ploughing is also mentioned in Gen. xlv. 6, when Joseph says, "There are five years in which shall neither be earing nor harvest ;" for the word earing is an old English word which means ploughing, and the Hebrew word which is there translated by it, is rendered ploughing in some other texts. The expression, "ear the ground," is also used, 1 Sam. viii. 12. The ploughs were much smaller

and weaker than those used in England: they had a share and coulter, but much less than those now used, as we may conclude from the prophet proposing that the swords should be beat into ploughshares, Isa. ii. 4; Mic. iv. 3. See the drawing on page 60. As the ploughs were smaller and lighter, they required much care in directing them; this may assist to explain Luke ix. 62, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God;" for, referring to the care and attention necessary in ploughing, our Lord shows the necessity of going forward with steadiness, in our attention to the concerns of our souls, and the work we are appointed to perform in this service. Even my youngest readers should remember that they have souls, and that they can do something for the good of others.

Oxen were used in these ploughs, as we read respecting Elisha; also 1 Sam. xiv. 14, and in other places. They were driven by goads, or long sticks with sharp iron points, which were of large size, as would be necessary when many oxen were used. We read of twelve yoke, or pairs, used with Elisha's plough. Maundrell describes the goads used in Syria, not long ago, as eight feet long, and having a small spade at one end; with one of these Shamgar slew the Philistines, Judg. iii. 31; these also are the pricks mentioned, Acts ix. 5.

IN Exod. ix. 31, 32, we find mention of various crops grown in Egypt. Isaiah, ch. xxviii. 25, speaks of several sorts of grain which were sown by the Jews.

We read,

Gen. xxvi. 12, how plentiful a harvest Isaac reaped, even a hundred fold what he had sown. In Egypt there is a sort of wheat which bears several ears upon one stalk, as described in Pharaoh's dream, Gen. xli. 5, and which produces very plentifully. See the drawing on page 65. Some persons have tried to grow this wheat in England, but our climate and soil do not suit it. We are told that three months after sowing the corn, the harvest usually began, and in four months was at its height. The barley harvest was the first, 2 Sam. xxi. 9, that began about the time of the Passover, and the wheat harvest about the time of Pentecost. They used sickles to cut the corn, as we do now; see Joel iii. 13; Deut. xvi. 9, and several other texts. They bound up the corn in sheaves, Gen. xxxvii. 7; Deut. xxiv. 19, &c, and then piled it into shocks, Judg. xv. 5. As corn and other sorts of grain are the produce of the ground, and not made by the contrivance of man, there has been little alteration in the methods of cultivation.

In the second chapter of Ruth, we find a very beautiful and particular account of the way in which the harvest was managed in Judea. There was an overseer set over the reapers, verse 5, and women were employed in the harvest-field as well as men, verse 8. But I am afraid there are now very few masters and servants who speak to each other on these occasions as Boaz and his reapers did, verse 4, though I am sure that if this were always done with sincerity and truth, and not as a mere common way of speaking, there would be more comfort and happiness than there is in general.

We also find that the refreshment for the reapers in the field was only bread and parched corn, their drink was water, with vinegar (or a weak sort of wine) mixed with it, which is very refreshing, as Dr. Clark found when travelling in those hot countries. At the end of harvest there was great rejoicing and a feast, Psa. cxxvi. 6; Isa. ix. 3 ; xvi. 9, 10. These feasts were usual on other occasions, such as sheep-shearing, 1 Sam. xxv. 36; 2 Sam. xiii. 23. From the account of Nabal's preparations, it is plain that large quantities of all sorts of provisions were got ready.