of the subject, who is bound to receive the interpretations that are given by the sovereign power. By our law, also, every one, until he is proved to be guilty, is regarded as innocent. Yet even in the best regulated state, there are evils that cannot be remedied, and mistakes which must arise from the weakness and imperfection of all human instruments. The true Christian in private life will therefore remember that his part on earth is "to do well, and bear evil," and leave all events in the hand of Him who worketh all things after the course of his own will, and can cause those things which seem to be against us, to promote our truest welfare. This does not, however, excuse those who are called to rule, from a neglect of the duties of their stations-the powers that be are ordained of God-and are required to be a terror to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well. Even the humblest Christian may, by prayer and a holy course of life, do something to check the course of increasing corruption. "Ten righteous men would have saved a city once;" and the Lord in after times declared, by his inspired servant, that he sought for such in Judah to stand before him in the gap, but found none, Ezek. xxii, 30. The day is fast approaching, of which the ruin of Jerusalem was but a type, when the things that are now hidden will be clearly brought to light, and fierce wrath will be poured out on all the ungodly,- "When God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil.' "Then Mercy for Judgment will call; CHAPTER XI. JEWISH POLITY. THE name of a creature brings with it the idea of a Creator and Disposer, Rev. iv, 11. Man claims authority over the objects that himself has formed; and this comparison is often used in Scripture to shadow forth the great truth that the Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and fulfills his own purposes, as the potter fashions vessels out of the clay, Dan. iv, 32; Rom. ix, 20, 21; Isa. xlv, 9; Jer. xviii, 6; Psa. c, 3; cxix, 73. The dealings of God with nations as such, are plainly manifested both by Scripture and experience; for, although the true state of individuals cannot be judged from their condition as to outward prosperity, (Eccl. ix, 2,) yet since communities exist only in this world, it is in this world that nations are either punished or rewarded. It would be easy to multiply instances in point, from the histories of both Jews and Gentiles. Some of the striking and minute descriptions of prophecy may be here alluded to. The sword, Hab. i, 6-8. The famine, Jer. xiv, 1-4; v, 24; Lam. ii, 13-15. Wild beasts, Isa. xxxiv, 13, 14. The pestilence, 2 Sam. xxiv, 15. Numerous interpositions of Providence might also be referred to, in which, though outwardly weak and powerless, the people of God experienced the truth of the promise, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper," Isa. liv, 17. Theirs was not merely a god of the hills, but one who was nigh unto them in all places and in all circumstances, Deut. iv, 7; 1 Kings xx, 27, 28. See also 2 Kings vi, 16; 2 Chron. xiii, 12; xx, 12; xxx, 21. How necessary it is to keep in mind that in the Lord alone is righteousness and strength! all other confidence is leaning on a broken reed, by which many have pierced themselves with sorrow. "Sure as on creatures we depend, Our hopes in disappointment end." It is probable that the fallen angels gloried in their own perfections, and lost sight of that dependence which must ever subsist between a creature and his Creator. It is certain that by this temptation Satan beguiled Eve, Gen. iii, 6; 2 Cor. xi, 3; and in the same manner he has endeavored to seduce all her posterity. The long lives of men before the flood, and their free and undisturbed possession of earthly indulgences, might have led them to exclaim, "Who is lord over us?" and perhaps to say, "There is no God." These were "overflown with a flood," but the race that followed them soon proved the corruption of their hearts, rejecting the commands of God, and falling into superstition and idolatry. The presumptuous spirit of infidelity has from time to time revived, and in these latter days it has become especially prevalent, 2 Pet. iii, 2. The Jews of old rightly judged, that the covenant which God made with Noah was made with all his posterity, Gen. ix, 9; and that its requirements were binding on Gentile proselytes. These were enjoined to abstain from fornication, murder, theft, idolatry, blasphemy, eating of things strangled, and of blood. Similar engagements were made by the apostles with their first converts from heathenism, and there had been instances, from time to time, of solitary individuals in distant lands acknowledging the authority of the God of Israel, who submitted to these rules, and renounced their heathen practices. In many cases, doubtless, these sons and daughters from afar would also be instructed in the import of the Levitical sacrifices, and brought to understand how all the families of the earth should be blessed in the promised son of Abraham, that Seed of the woman who should bruise the head of the serpent, and become the Desire of all nations. But it was reserved for later ages that a nation should be born in a day, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of God and of his Christ, of which time even yet our views are distant and imperfect, though some faint glimpses of a happier state of things are occasionally offered to us. Having thus considered briefly the condition of mankind at large, and the relation in which they stand towards their Almighty Ruler, it may be desirable to return to the notice of some of those institutions by which the Jews were for 1500 years distinguished, as those to whom pertained “the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises," as well as to those plans of their own devising, in which they more or less departed from the will of God. All law and social order, under whatever form it may be organized and administered, is necessarily based upon this great principle, that there is a self-existent God, the Creator and Disposer of all things, to whom all are accountable; and that this Almighty Being, this Good, as the name emphatically denotes, desires the welfare of all his creatures, especially of those who are endowed with rational powers, who possess immortal souls. All religion, natural or revealed, is based upon this principle, and is, in truth, a code of laws pro ceeding from an almighty, all-perfect Being. Or, to bring it more immediately home to us, it is a series of precepts delivered to children by a wise and affectionate Father. When mankind began to increase upon earth, the parent or head of the tribe exercised supreme authority over his children and servants. He was himself accountable to no earthly superior, and could reward, punish, or dismiss, as he thought proper. This is fully exemplified in the histories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Each exercised his authority with an absolute power, and, as in the cases of Ishmael, Esau, and Jacob, Simon and Levi, acted from what would appear personal feelings, rather than from any defined code of laws. Doubtless the older patriarchs before them did the same, but their histories are less fully given. It is obvious that in proportion as men were actuated by the fear of God, their government would be exercised with justice and kindness; but where this was wanting, as in the family of Cain before the flood, and in the case of Nimrod after the flood, there would be oppression, violence, and wrong. The conduct of such men, in all ages, may be thus described : "To heaven the proud blasphemers raised their eyes, On earth invincible, they sternly broke Love's willing bonds, and Nature's kindred yoke. Mad for dominion, with remorseless sway Compell'd their reptile brethren to obey, And doom'd their human herds, with thankless toil, Like brutes, to grow and perish on the soil; Their sole inheritance through lingering years, The bread of misery and the cup of tears." A more minute description of such characters is contained in Job xxiv, 1-12. In fact, the most detailed account contained in the sacred records, with reference to patriarchal life, is found in the Book of Job. There we see the man of wealth, influence, and ability, the object of respect and attention, using his talents for the benefit of his fellowcreatures, and deriving instruction from the works of creation and providence, mourning over the mixture of good and evil in this earthly scene, yet comforting himself in the prospect of a future day of retribution. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; As men multiplied upon the earth, larger groups were formed, called states and kingdoms: all their systems may be traced up to the patriarchal source; but they were frequently corrupted much. The Egyptians are considered to have been the first to introduce kingly government, (see Gen. xii, 15, 20,) but the kings in those days were very different from the monarchs of later times. We read in Josh. xii, of thirty-one kings in a very small space of territory, scarcely equal in extent to the principality of Wales. Yet if their dominions were small, their authority was still absolute, as may be gathered from the tyrannical proceedings of Adoni-bezek, Judg. i, and of Pharaoh, Exod. i. The deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt was a direct act of Divine power, and the subjects of this deliverance were called upon to obey the Lord who led them forth. This was expressly declared before the deliverance had been accomplished, and again immediately after it, Exod. vi, 7, and xii, 42. The form of government thus established for the Jews is rightly deemed a theocracy,—a system in which the affairs of state were conducted by the immediate direction of the Almighty. Thus Jehovah was the King as well as the God of Israel, and is continually spoken of as such. He was everywhere present among them; not only as he is in all places, but by a special manifestation of his power in the tabernacle, over the mercy-seat, in the bright cloud called the Shechinah, to which, in all cases requiring direction, the high priest resorted, as a prime minister to an earthly ruler or sovereign prince, to receive orders and directions. There is in Num. ix, 17–23, a beautiful description of the manner in which the Lord guided his people through the wilderness, and the Psalmist refers repeatedly to God as his leader, Psa. xxxii, 8; lxxiii, 24. And it must be remembered that the earlier proceedings of this remarkable people were foreseen and directed by Jehovah, as is plain from Acts vii, 1-20, and from Genesis xv. However, it is from the departure out of Egypt that their polity as a nation is to be dated. "The covenant of Jehovah with the Hebrew people," says an eminent writer, "and their oath by which they bound their allegiance to Jehovah, their God and King, was, that they should receive and obey the laws which he should appoint as their Supreme Governor, with a particu |