ance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ'? Whether we have not failed of humility and tenderness towards others; and by self-preference and self-confidence, provoked the Lord to leave us experimentally to learn what we are in ourselves, and what we can do without Him? Many an honest

and zealous endeavour in a good cause, has attained but little success, for such reasons as these. We should, therefore, strictly examine ourselves, and be deeply humbled for our sins praying earnestly that God would not condemn us, but show us wherefore He contendeth with us.'-Scott.

14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? 15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. 16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. 18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. 19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. 20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. 22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. 28 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. 24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. 25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: 26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's houshold, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. 28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it,

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and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. "And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. 30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. 31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. 32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. " And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, "Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. 38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. 39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. 4o And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

V. 36-40. The view of the vast multitudes of the enemy, perhaps, rather discouraged Gideon: who for the confirmation of his own faith, and that of his troops, desired this miraculous sign of the Lord's presence, as the seal of his commission. But, as it is the nature of wool to suck in the moisture, when there is any in the air, so the first token did not quite satisfy him: and yet, conscious of his unbelief, he asked the reversal of the sign, with an humble deprecation of the Lord's displeasure, which he obtained. ... According to this miracle, the nation of Israel was moistened by the dew of heavenly blessings, when the

whole earth besides remained dry: and, now that the nations of the earth enjoy the blessings of Redemption, the Jews remain like the dry fleece. What cause have we sinners of the Gentiles to bless the Lord, that the dew of heavenly blessings, once confined to Israel, now descends upon the inhabitants of the earth, without that limitation! yet still the means of grace are dispensed in different measures according to the purposes of God; and even in the same congregations, one man's soul is like Gideon's moistened fleece, and another's like the dry ground. Lord, be thou still as the dew unto Israel! Pour upon them the

continual dew of thy blessing,' and O! venly benediction descends upon all let not my fleece be dry, while hea- around!-Scott; Hervey.

CHAP. VII.

THEN

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THEN Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 8 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

Fear kills as many as the plague. A pilgrim, says the fable, once met the plague going into Smyrna. 'What are you going for?' To kill 3,000 people,' answered the plague. Some time after they met again. But you killed 30,000,' said the pilgrim. 'No,' answered the plague, I killed but 3,000,-it was fear that killed the rest.'-L.

Gideon's army, we see, must be lessened. And who so fit to be cashiered as the fearful? God bids him therefore proclaim licence for all faint hearts to leave the field. God will not glorify

Himself by cowards. As the timorous shall be without the gates of heaven, so shall they be without the lists of God's field. Reader! does but a foul. word, or a frown, scare thee from Christ? Doth the loss of a little land. or silver, disquiet thee? Doth but the sight of the Midianites in the valley strike thee with terror? Home then, home to the world; thou art not for the conquering band of Christ; if thou canst not resolve to follow Him through infamy, prisons, racks, gibbets, flames, depart to thy house, and save thyself to thy loss.-Bp. Hall.

And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the LORD said unto Gideon, by the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and

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retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

Gideon's brave and meagre band of 300, that withstood and vanquished the mighty hosts of Midian, easily reminds us of the heroic band of Spartans, who at the straits of Thermopylæ,

succeeded, under the command of the immortal Leonidas, in checking for three successive days, the mighty Persian army,-numbering, it is said, more than 3,000,000 of men!-L.

And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. 10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: 11 And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterwards shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. 18 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. 15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. 17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. 19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

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How astonishing and overwhelming must the effect be, in a dark night, of the sudden glare of 300 torches, dart

ing their splendour in the same instant, on the half-awakened eyes of the terrified Midianites, accompanied with

of The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!'-Comp. Bible.

the clangour of 300 trumpets, alternately mingled with the thundering shout 21 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. "And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.

If these pitchers, trumpets, and fire- pet of the archangel shall sound, the brands of Gideon, did so daunt and elements shall be on a flame, the dismay the proud troops of Midian and heavens pass away with a great noise, Amalek, who shall be able to stand and the Lord Himself shall descend before the last terror, when the trum- with a shout?—Bp. Hall. 24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan. 25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

V. 25. And brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon.'-Among ancient nations, the head of the conquered chief was usually brought to the conqueror; thus Pompey's head was brought to Cæsar, Cicero's head to Mark Antony, and the heads of Ahab's

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children to Jehu. These barbarities are seldom practised now, except among the Mohammedans, or the savages of Africa and America! and for the credit of human nature, it is to be wished that such atrocities had never been committed.-Comp. Bible.

CHAP. VIII.

ND the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

We do not hear of the Ephraimites offering themselves before the fight; we hear them expostulating after it. Cowards will seem valiant when the

danger is over. Their quarrel was that they were not called. It had been a greater praise of their valour to have

gone unbidden. What need was there to call them, when God complained of multitude, and sent away those who were called? None speak so big in the end of the fray, as the fearfullest. -Bp. Hall.

And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer? 3 God hath delivered into your hands the