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stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." (Job 19. 23-27.)

the last trump, and the dead shall be raised incor- | For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall ruptible." It is probable that the bodies of the righteous and the wicked, though each shall in some respects be the same as before, will each be in other respects not the same, but undergo some change conformable to the character of the individual, and suited to his future state of existence; yet both, as the passage just quoted clearly teaches, are then rendered indestructible.

Respecting the good, it is said, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we shall appear with Him in glory; we shall be like Him; our body shall be fashioned like his glorious body;" yet, notwithstanding this, "it doth not yet fully appear what we shall be." (Col. 3. 4; 1John 3. 2; Phil. 3. 21.) This has a very obvious reason: language cannot communicate to us any such ideas as would render those matters comprehensible. But language may suggest striking and pleasing analogies; and with such we are presented by the Apostle: "All flesh," says he, "is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds;" yet all these are fashioned out of the same kind of substance, mere inert matter, till God gives it life and activity. So will the body differ at the resurrection from what it was when committed to the grave. It is sown an animal body; a body which previously existed with all the organs, faculties, and propensities, requisite to procure, receive, and appropriate nutriment, as well as to perpetuate the species; but it shall be raised a spiritual body, refined from the dregs of matter, freed from the organs and senses requisite in its former state, and probably retaining the remaining senses in greater perfection, together with new and more exquisite faculties, fitted for the exalted state of existence and enjoyment to which it is arising.

In the present state, the organs and senses appointed to transmit the impressions of objects to the mind have a manifest relation to the respective objects; the eye and seeing, for example, to light; the ear and hearing, to sound. In the refined and glorious state of existence to which good men are tending, where the objects which solicit attention will be infinitely more numerous, interesting, and delightful, may not the new organs, faculties, and senses, be appropriately refined, acute, susceptible, or penetrating? Human industry and invention have placed us, in a manner, in new worlds; what, then, may not a spiritual body, with sharpened faculties, and the grandest possible objects of contemplation, effect in the celestial regions to which Christians are invited? There the senses will no longer degrade the affections, the imagination no longer corrupt the heart; the magnificent scenery thrown open to view will animate the attention, give a glow and vigour to the sentiments, that roused attention will never tire; those glowing sentiments will never cloy; but the man, now constituted of an indestructible body, as well as an immortal soul, may visit in eternal succession the streets of the celestial city, may "drink of the free river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb," and dwell for ever in those abodes of harmony and peace, which, though "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the imagination of man to conceive," we are assured "God hath prepared for them that love Him." (1 Cor. 2. 9.)

There is one passage in the Book of Job, (19. 23-27,) which is generally, and justly, regarded as bearing decisive testimony to the truth of this great doctrine, but which it is to be lamented some eminent men have endeavoured to turn from its obvious meaning. The passage is the following:-"O that my words were now written! O that they were printed in a book! that they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!

"It has been the fashion with a class of interpreters and divines," remarks Dr. Pye Smith, "pleased, perhaps, to associate their own with the names of Grotius, Le Clerc, and Warburton, to explode from this passage any reference to a future life, or the expectation of the Messiah; and no slight contempt has been expressed for the credulity and mental servitude (very candidly taken for granted) of those who entertain the belief of such a reference. This has, however, been the opinion of the greater number of Scripture critics, ancient and modern, Popish and Protestant. The usual objections against this interpretation are, that no vestiges appear in the Book of Job of any acquaintance with the doctrine of a future life; that it would be very extraordinary, if there really existed in the mind of the composer of this book any knowledge of the Redeemer to come, that such a glorious hope should show itself nowhere but in this single passage; that we cannot reconcile such an avowal with the despondency which appears to have prevailed in the mind of Job; and that the terms employed do not necessarily import more than the persuasion of a deliverance, by Divine goodness, from the present calamity, and a restoration to health and happiness in the present life. To these reasonings we reply:

“1. Admitting that there is no intimation of the doctrine of immortality and a future judgment, or of the expectation of a Messiah, in any other part of this book, the

consequence does not follow. It should be recollected that, in a poetical book, the matter is disposed considerably according to the taste and choice of the writer, and a more vivid impression might be made, by presenting a capital circumstance, with its brightness and force collected into one point, than would be produced if it were dispersed through the general composition. The whole texture of this passage, introduced with the most impassioned wish for attention and perpetual remembrance, and sustained in the sublimest style of utterance, is evidently thus contrived to interest and impress in the highest degree.

"Those of our objectors who ascribe the date of the poem to the period of the Captivity, cannot refuse to admit that the writer possessed whatever knowledge the Jewish nation had with respect to a Messiah and a future state. The writings of Moses and the former prophets, and the greater part of the works of the latter prophets, and the books grouped with the Psalms, were, at this time, the accredited Scriptures of the Jews; and few will be so hardy as to affirm, that no intimations occur in those writings of the doctrines which constituted the hope and consolation of Israel. On this (in my opinion, untenable) hypothesis, it would appear highly credible that some very distinct reference to those doctrines would enter materially into the structure of the work.

"2. The alleged inconsistency between these expressions of triumphant confidence, as we understand them, and the gloominess and despondency generally prevalent in the speeches of Job, presses equally on our opponents, who confine the passage to the expectation of restored prosperity in the present life. It lies even more against them; for Job, not only before, but in his very last speech, evidently despaired of a restoration to temporal felicity. His property might, indeed, by some wonderful, though almost incredible, reverse of God's providence, be retrieved, or, at least, equivalent comforts in that class of things might be obtained; but his children

RESURRECTION.

were destroyed; they could not live again: and his disorder, probably the dreadful Oriental leprosy, was incurable and fatal. Yet, between this hopeless condition as to earthly enjoyments, and a vigorous aspiration of the mind after spiritual and immortal blessings, there is no inconsistency. A man must have little judgment, little taste, and less moral sensibility, who does not perceive in these alternations of faith and diffidence, despair and hope, a picture exquisitely just and touching of the human mind, under the influence of the most agitating conflict between the religious principles resting on the belief of invisible existences, and, on the other hand, the dictates of sense, the pressure of misery, and the violence of temptations.

"3. But we are not disposed to grant either of the assumptions before mentioned. We have better evidence than the dicta of German anti-supernaturalists, or the opinions of English refiners upon theology, that the patriarchs from whom the tradition of Divine truth has descended to Job, 'confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and desired a better country, that is, a heavenly.' Nor is it credible that the promise of a Messiah was totally unknown to the true worshippers of Jehovah in Arabia, allied to the family of Abraham, and in the habit of reverentially cherishing the remains of primeval truth. And, besides the possession of the patriarchal religion, what is there to prevent any but a deist from conceiving that God might inspire His faithful and afflicted servant with the knowledge and the joyful confidence which he expresses? Is not such a supposition consonant with all the known scheme and principles of the Divine dispensations? Was not the occasion worthy of the interposition? Has it not always been the faith of the Jewish and Christian church, that the ultimate sentiments which it is the design of the Book of Job to support and illustrate, and which, in the sequel of the book, receive the stamp of Divine approbation, form a part of the body of revealed truth? There are also many passages in the book which may be rationally urged as recognitions of a future state.

"4. The bare assertion that the terms of the passage do not import so much as is usually attributed to them, may be fairly enough met by asserting the contrary. To the unlearned reader, as well as to the critical scholar, the means of judging for himself are industriously presented in the close version given above, and in the remarks and references subjoined. The words are as plain as in any instance the language of prophecy can be expected to be. It appears to me strictly rational, probable, and in harmony with the great plan of a progressive revelation, to regard this remarkable passage as dictated by the Spirit of prophecy, who, in many portions and in mamy modes, spake to the fathers.' Let me also entreat the reader's most impartial consideration, whether the sense here maintained is not required, even necessitated, by the words, taken in their fair meaning and connexion; and whether the affixing of a lower interpretation does not oblige those who take this course to put a manifest force upon the phrases, and upon the marks of pre-eminent importance with which the sacred author has signalized them.

"After employing the utmost force and beauty of language to stamp importance on the words which he was about to utter, and to ensure for them a never-dying attention, the patriarch protests his confidence that the living God, the eternal, independent, and unchanging One, would be his vindicator from injustice, and his Redeemer from all his sorrows; and would restore him from the state of death to a new life of supreme happiness in the favour and enjoyment of God.

"It is not necessary to suppose that Job understood the full import and extent of what he was 'moved by

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the Holy Ghost to speak.' His ignorance of the purport of the Divine testimony of a future Saviour from sin and its consequent evils, would place him on a level with the other saints, in his own and many succeeding ages, who died in faith, not receiving the promises' in their clearest development, but seeing them afar off." Even when those promises had received many accessions of successive revelations, the Jewish prophets did not apprehend the exact design and meaning of their own predictions; for they inquired and searched diligently, what or what kind of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify. Our inquiry is, therefore, not so much what the patriarch actually understood, as what the Author of inspiration intended, since it was 'not unto themselves, but unto us,' that the patriarchs and prophets 'ministered these things.' 'No prophecy of Scripture is of self-solution;' but is made gradually plainer by new communications from the same omnis. cient source, and by the light of events.

"Upon this principle it is proper for us to compare the language of this passage with the character and declarations of Him to whom all the prophets gave witness.' He in the fulness of time was manifested, as the Redeemer from sin and death, the First and the Last, and the living One, the resurrection and the life; who, in the appointed season, is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him; whose voice the dead shall hear, and hearing shall live'

"If, then, the evidence which we can attain in this case, be sufficient to satisfy an impartial judgment, that the passage before us was 'given by inspiration of God,' as a prophecy of the second coming of the only Redeemer and Judge of mankind; it is no less evidence in point to our present investigation, on the person of the Great Deliverer, than if it directly regarded his first advent; and it unequivocally designates Him by the highest titles and attributes of Deity. Upon the hypothesis of those who regard the Book of Job as a Divine parable, all doctrinal and practical conclusions from it are strengthened, rather than rendered weak or precarious."

"The modern Jews," says Hyams, "look for their Messiah to come on this wise: that on one of those days the trumpet will sound at Jerusalem, and the sound will be so great that the Jews living in different parts of the world will hear the sound thereof; and the very moment they will be transformed into angels, and by the power of God transferred to Jerusalem, where the Messiah will reign over them. They do not look for a spiritual reign, but a temporal one. But still they do not expect, after once they return to Jerusalem, there will be any more death; for Jerusalem they look upon as their paradise. And all the Jews, who have died and been buried since the creation of the world, will work their passage underground the same as moles, and rise on the same spot where the Temple stood in the days of old. Then will the world at large cry and say, 'O I have been undone! for now I find there is only one God, and He is the God of the Jews, and the Saviour who is now come is the real Messiah, who was foretold in the Scriptures.' Then as many of the world, who will lay hold of the skirt of a garment of a Jew, and say, ‘I will go with you, for I can plainly see you are a holy and chosen people,' then those will be saved with the Jews.

"Their love is so great for Jerusalem, that for centuries past, down to this time, many opulent Jews, in different parts of the world, arrange matters, and go and settle in the Holy Land, to die and be buried there; for they are given to understand it will be a twofold advantage. First, it will save them a tedious journey underground when the Messiah comes; and, secondly, in their graves they will not feel the gnawing of the worms.”

REUBEN, 187 (Gen. 29. 32,) the eldest son of Jacob and Leah, gave his name to one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses, before his death, said of Reuben, "Let Reuben live and not die, yet let his number be but small." (Deut. 33. 6.) His tribe was never very numerous nor very considerable in Israel. They had their inheritance beyond Jordan, between the brooks Arnon south and Jazer north, having the mountains of Gilead east and Jordan west. The Reubenites were early carried into captivity. (See ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF.) The present state of their country will be found described under PALESTINE.

REVELATION. This word may signify the act of making a thing public that was before unknown; it is in a stronger sense used for the discoveries made by God to his prophets, and by them to the world; and more particularly for the books of the Old and New

Testament.

Having under BIBLE, CANON, INSPIRATION, PROPHECY, examined the evidences of the truth of the fact that the Almighty has deigned to communicate his will to man, we may here confine ourselves to a brief recapitulation of the assertions there proved.

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common right of pasture in the Arabian deserts, Michaëlis thinks that David kept numerous herds there, (1Chron. 27. 29,31,) which were partly under the care of Arabian herdsmen.

3. The produce of the royal demesnes, consisting of arable lands, vineyards, olive, and sycamore grounds, &c., which had originally been uninclosed and uncultivated, or were the property of state criminals confiscated to the sovereign; these demesnes were cultivated by bondsmen, and, perhaps, also by the people of conquered countries, (1Chron. 27. 26,31; 2Chron. 26. 10;) and it appears from 1Samuel 8. 14; 22. 7, and Ezekiel 46. 17, that the kings assigned part of their domains to their servants in lieu of salary.

4. Another source of the royal revenue was the tenth part of all the produce of the fields and vineyards, the collection and management of which seem to have been confided to the officers mentioned in 1Kings 4. 7, and 1Chronicles 27. 25. It is also probable from 1Kings 10. 14, that the Israelites likewise paid a tax in money. These imposts Solomon appears to have increased; and Rehoboam's refusal to lessen them is stated by the sacred historian as the cause of the revolt of the ten tribes

against him. (1Kings 11. 14,18.) There is an allusion in Malachi 1. 8; Nehemiah 5. 18, to the custom of paying dues in kind to governors, which exists at this day in many Eastern countries.

(1.) The revelation contained in our Bible is perfectly credible. It is an address to the reason, judgment, and affections of men. The Old Testament abounds with 5. Not only did the most precious part of the plunthe finest specimens of history, sublimity, and interest- der of the conquered nations flow into the royal treaing scenes of Providence. The facts of the New Testa-sury, (2Sam. 8.) but the latter also had tributes imposed ment are supported by undoubted evidence from enemies on them, which were termed mincha, or presents, and friends. The attestations to the early existence of and were paid partly in money, and partly in agricultural Christianity are numerous from Ignatius, Polycarp, Ire- produce. (1Kings 4. 21; Psalm 72. 10, compared with næus, Justin Martyr, and Tatian, who were Christians; 1Chronicles 27. 25,31.) and by Tacitus, Suetonius, Serenus, Pliny, &c., who were heathens.

(2.) The revelations contained in our Bible are Divinely inspired. The matter, the manner, the scope, the predictions, miracles, preservation, &c., &c., all prove this.

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(3.) Revelation is intended for universal benefit. is a common objection, that hitherto it has been confined to few, and therefore it cannot come from God, who must be conceived too benevolent to allow any remain in ignorance of what is essential to their eternal welfare; but this mode of arguing will equally hold good against the permission of evil, the dreadful sins and miseries of mankind, and all other dispensations of God's providence, which pass our finite comprehension; it therefore can never be entertained by the Christian believer. Besides, this revelation, we have reason to believe, will, in the fulness of time, be made known to all mankind. Already its influence is widely spread. In the cold regions of the north, in the burning regions of the south, the Bible begins to be known; and from the predictions it contains, we believe the glorious sun of revelation shall shine and illuminate the whole globe.

REVELATION. See APOCALYPSE.

REVENUE. The revenues of the Hebrew kings, we learn from the sacred writings, were chiefly collected from the following sources:

1. Voluntary offerings, or presents, which were made to them conformably to the Oriental custom. (1Sam. 10. 27; 16. 20.) Michaëlis is of opinion that they were confined to Saul only, as no trace of them is to be found after his time.

2. The produce of the royal flocks, (1Sam. 13. 23; 2Chron. 32. 28,29;) and as both king and subjects had

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6. Lastly, Solomon had a source of revenue which perhaps was not much enjoyed by his successors; this was the custom paid to him by the foreign merchants who passed through his dominions, (1Kings 10. 15;) this tax afforded a considerable revenue to that monarch; who also carried on a very extensive and lucrative trade, (1 Kings 10. 22,) particularly in Egyptian horses, and the byssus, or fine linen of Egypt. (1 Kings 10. 28,29.)

REVERENCE, in general denotes love conjoined with the solicitude not to thwart or offend the object beloved; and considered with respect to God, is called filial fear; a duty we owe God. Reverence to God is accompanied with a restraint from everything contrary to the Divine perfections; in this differing greatly from those who refrain from evil from mere fear, called slavish fear, or dread of punishment, without any regard to God, peculiar to slaves; the reverence we pay God indicating an ingenuous mind. A reverence is due not only to God and his perfections, when we think or speak of them, (Heb. 12. 28,29,) but also to things that have a relation to Him, as his worship, his servants, &c. (Levit. 19. 30.)

REWARD, is the good which the lawgiver conjoins with a virtuous action, as the motive for doing it; in the same manner as punishment is proposed as a motive to abstain from a vicious action: and both may be either natural, the necessary consequence of good or bad actions; or positive, which depends on the goodwill or pleasure of the lawgiver. (See PUNISHMENTS.) The original words in the Scripture rendered "reward," signify: (1,) a gift or bribe, (Deut. 27. 25;) (2,) the fruit or result of labour, (Eccles. 9. 5;) (3,) human applause, (Matt. 6. 2-5;) (4,) comfort and joy. (Psalm 19. 11.)

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Rhegium, now called Reggio, was founded by a colony of Greeks in a very early age, and was long an independent state. At length it was united to Rome, and it was one of the last places held in Italy by the Eastern emperors. In the eighth century it was captured by the Saracens from Sicily, and held by them until the eleventh, when it was conquered by the Normans, and it has ever since formed a part of the kingdom of Naples. In the sixteenth century it was three times captured and burnt by the Turks, and in 1783 it was totally destroyed by an earthquake. It has been since rebuilt, and is now the neatest and most commercial town in the south of Italy, having a population of 20,000 inhabitants.

REZIN, 77 (2Kings 15. 37,) the last native | Sicily. Here St. Paul stayed one day, on his first voyking of Syria, an able prince, who formed an alliance age to Rome. (Acts 28. 13.) with Pekah, king of Israel, against Ahaz, king of Judah, whose dominions they invaded. After obtaining considerable advantages, Rezin sent a great number of prisoners to Damascus, and then proceeded to lay siege to Jerusalem, but in this he failed. This check, which had been foretold by Isaiah, (7. 1-8,) frustrated the project formed by the allied princes for overthrowing the dynasty of David. Rezin was more successful in Idumea, where he made himself master of the port of Eloth on the Red Sea; an important conquest, which gave him the command of the neighbouring country and sea. (2Kings 16. 6.) His successes, however, were of short duration: for, in the following year, agreeable to the predictions of Isaiah, (8. 4,6; 9. 11,) Damascus was taken by Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, who carried its inhabitants into bondage, and put to death Rezin, with whom the kingdom of Syria terminated. See SYRIA.

RHEGIUM, Phytov, a maritime city near the south-western extremity of Italy, opposite to Messina in

RHODA, 'Póon, the name of a handmaid mentioned in Acts 12. 13. "And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate," &c.

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RHODES, Podos, (Acts 21. 1,) an island of the famed for nothing more than for the colossal statue, to Levant, the ancient name of which was Asteria, Ophiusa, which reference has already been made. or Etheria, about eight miles south of the province of brazen image of Phoebus, or Apollo, fixed across the Caria, in the Lesser Asia, and seventy-eight east of mouth of the harbour, so that shipping passed under its Crete. It is one hundred and twenty miles in circum- legs. Its height was one hundred and five feet, and the ference, and is deemed next in importance to Cyprus whole in proportion; thus the thumb could scarcely be and Lesbos. It derived its name from the quantities of surrounded by the arms of the largest man. Within roses that grew in it. It possessed so clear an atmo- the legs and body was a winding staircase, which led to sphere that it was said that there was scarcely a day in the head, from which, with the aid of glasses, could be the year in which the sun did not shine in it. On this seen the shores of Syria. It was the work of Chares, account it was supposed that it was peculiarly favoured of the city of Lindus, and a pupil of Lysippus. It by Phoebus, or the sun, who, in consequence, was wor- occupied the artist twelve years; and for its size and shipped by its inhabitants as the patron god of the singular situation, became one of the seven wonders of island, and had a colossal statue erected at the mouth of the world. It cost three hundred talents, and contained the harbour. It produced excellent wines, and gave seven hundred and twenty thousand pounds weight of birth to several eminent artists in statuary and painting. So important was it in a maritime and political point of view, that it could originate a code of commercial regulations that was adopted by all the surrounding nations; and Demetrius Poliorcetes, one of the successors of Alexander the Great, deemed the reduction of it under his own dominion essential to the permanence of his power among the Grecian states. Rhodes has been

brass. It was commenced three hundred years before Christ; and, after standing about sixty years, was thrown down by an earthquake. The Rhodians received large contributions from all the cities of Greece to restore it; but they appropriated them to their own uses, under the pretence that the oracle of Apollo was unwilling that the statue should be restored. After lying in this state for eight hundred and ninety-four

years, Muavius, the sixth caliph of the Saracens, sold it to a Jew, who loaded nine hundred camels with the brass contained in it.

The Rhodians were at first governed by kings, but afterwards formed themselves into a republic. They passed through numerous vicissitudes and reverses; at one time being subject to, and distressed by the Greeks, and, at another, receiving homage from surrounding nations; till they at length fell a prey to the Romans, when their isle became part of the province of the Islands. In A.D. 654, it was taken by the Saracens, from whom it was afterwards wrested by the Greeks. These retained possession of it till 1283, when it fell These retained possession of it till 1283, when it fell under the power of the Seljukian Turks. In 1308, the knights of St. John of Jerusalem wrested it from their hands, and kept possession of it till 1522, when Solyman, the Ottoman Turk, obliged them to quit the island Most of the Rhodians deserting the place at the same time, the Turks granted distinguished privileges to such Greeks as they could induce to re-inhabit it. It is still under the power of the Turks. The Greeks, its original inhabitants, together with all Christians, are now restricted to the miserable suburbs; Jews and Turks alone dwell in the city. The palace of the grand master of the knights is still shown, though in a state of ruin. Niebuhr visited it, and states that it contains many old noble buildings, some of which are decorated with the armorial bearings of some of the most ancient families in Europe. The Turks neglect the fortificacations, although they might know their importance from having besieged the island so long before they could make themselves masters of it. Ransom.

The principal place of the island is also called Rhodes: it stands on the north-east shore, has a couple of harbours separated by a strongly fortified neck of land, and contains a number of churches, palaces, and forts constructed by the knights. The population of the whole island is variously estimated at from twenty to forty thousand: the great majority are Greeks, who are esteemed good sailors, and the most skilful shipwrights of the Levant.

RIB. See EVE.

RIBAND. A narrow fringe or riband on the borders of the principal garment was a common mark or dignity amongst ancient nations, and a mystic signification was frequently assigned to its shape, breadth,

and colour. Moses directed the children of Israel to

use fringes and ribands of blue on the borders of their garments, "that they may look upon them, and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do

them." (Numb. 15. 38.) To this circumstance Christ alludes when he assigns as one mark of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, that "they enlarged the borders of their garments." T.

RICH, RICHES. The wealth of a pastoral people, such as the Hebrews in the patriarchal age, consisted chiefly in flocks and herds. Hence we find it assigned as a cause of the separation of Esau and Jacob, that "their riches were more than they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle." (Gen. 36. 8.) It was not until the reign of Solomon that the Jews possessed any abundance of the precious metals, and as the nation never became commercial, its rich men must in all ages have the great land-holders. Throughout the East the holders of land have ever been remarkable from exacting very disproportionate shares of the profit from the actual cultivators of the soil, and this is the reason why we find "the rich" so often and so severely

denounced in Scripture. Riches are frequently used in a metaphorical sense for intellectual endowments, and for the gifts and graces of God's Holy Spirit, which constitute the treasure to be "laid up in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal." T.

RIDDLE. The riddles or enigmas of the Eastern nations are usually remote and far-fetched metaphors, which require some exertion "of ingenuity to discover their meaning and application. In all ages the Orientals have exhibited a strong partiality for these mental puzzles, and gladiatorial displays of the wit displayed in the solutions of enigmas, are common both in Arabia and Persia. Samson's challenge to the Philistines, (Judges 14. 12,) shows the great importance attributed to success in these trials of skill; his wager, "thirty sheets and thirty change of garment," was one of very great magnitude in those days, when dresses were so valuable as to descend from father to son. On the other hand, we find that the Philistines threatened to destroy the family of Samson's wife, unless she exerted all her influence to discover the secret. The riddle put forth by Samson, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness," is a very fair specimen of what may be called a challenge riddle; it was with such hard questions that the queen of Sheba came to test the boasted wisdom of Solomon. T.

RIDER. It is uncertain at what time, or in what place, horses were first used for riding, but there is every reason to believe that it was not until a period long after their having been employed for draught. Instead of cavalry, the Egyptians and Babylonians, and the Greeks of the Homeric age, used war-chariots, the drivers of which are in the earlier books of the Old Testament called "riders," as in Miriam's song of triumph for the overthrow of the Egyptian host. (Exod. 15.) The Book of Job, however, clearly intimates a "rider," in our acceptation of the word, in the description of the chase of the ostrich: "She scorneth the horse and his rider." (Job 39. 18.) White asses were used as steeds by the nobles in the land under the Judges, and instead of these we find that mules were used in the age of the Kings; horses being almost exclusively reserved for chariots. The Persians appear to have been the first Oriental nation that discovered the superiority of a flexible body of cavalry over a cumbrous and unwieldy corps of chariots; many of their early victories may fairly be ascribed to their skill in horsemanship; on the other hand, the Jewish armies were always deficient in cavalry, and their alliances with foreign states were generally designed to obtain a supply of auxiliary horse. It is not one of the least proofs of Solomon's political wisdom that he exerted himself to supply this national deficiency. C.

RIGHTEOUSNESS. Considered as a Divine attribute, righteousness may be described as that perfection of God's nature, whereby, being most holy and just in himself, all his relations towards his creatures are established in perfect equity and rectitude. It is described in Scripture as a moral character, which may be immediately deduced from the Creator's essential attribute of a ruler over the work of his hands: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18. 25) The righteousness of God is manifested not only in his clemency, mercy, and goodness, (Deut. 6. 25.) but also in his infliction of chastisements upon the guilty: "Righteous art thou, O Lord, and just are thy judgments." (Psalm 119. 137.) But it is more particularly

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