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Lord; only Rahab the harlot shall live, she, I take, shall come by households; and the and all that are with her in the house, because household, which the Lord shall take, shall she hid the messengers that we sent. And come man by man. And it shall be that he ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the ac- that is taken with the accursed thing shall cursed thing, lest ye make yourselves ac- be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath, cursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, because he hath transgressed the covenant of and make the camp of Israel a curse, and the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and in Israel," vessels of brass, and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord."

Such was the answer which Joshua received from the Lord, when he made his complaint before him; and such were the means he was to adopt, in order to detect the guilty individual who had wrought such wickedness in Israel. Joshua acted according to these instructions, and succeeded in finding out the man who had sinned, and who was the cause of their sufferings. He detected Achan as the one that had troubled Israel, to whom he addressed himself and said: "Give, I pray thee, my son, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me." Achan instantly acknowledged his sin, and told Joshua the whole matter. "When I saw," said he,

ment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it." Upon hearing this, Joshua immediately despatched messengers to the man's tent, who found the things deposited there as he had said. When the spoil was brought unto Joshua, he and all Israel with him took the person who had stolen it, together with the spoil itself, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his asses, and all that appertained unto him, and they brought them to the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, "Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones."

Thus plain, then, were the instructions that Israel received, relative to the disposal of the spoil of Jericho; and well had it been, had there not been found a man who acted contrary to them. There was, however, one individual, actuated with the desire of sordid gain, who took of the accursed thing, and thus brought a reproach on Israel, and caused them to be sorely punished. This individual was Achan. He had ventured, contrary to the express command that had been given, to appropriate to himself part of the spoil of the city, and his single act of iniquity was viewed as a national crime, and, as such, it was signally punished; for the very next city after" among the spoils, a goodly Babylonish garJericho that the Israelites attempted to take, they were foiled in the attempt, and about six and thirty men of them smitten. Being thus discomfited, the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. And Joshua, also, their leader, and their captain, rent his clothes, and fell upon his face to the ground, until the eventide, he and all the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. Prostrate and overwhelmed with grief, Joshua made his complaint unto the Lord, and inquired wherefore he had so afflicted and disgraced them in the sight of their enemies? And the answer that was returned unto him from the Lord was this: "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant, which I commanded them, for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen and dissembled, and they have put it even among their own stuff; therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed; neither will I be with you any more cept ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning, therefore, ye shall be brought, according to your tribes, and it shall be that the tribe, which the Lord taketh, shall come according to the families thereof; and the family, which the Lord shall

After this the Lord turned away from Israel the fierceness of his anger, and encouraged them to go up and fight against Ai, the place where they had formerly been vanex-quished, on account of the accursed thing that was among them. They went up, according to the commandment of the Lord, and took this city so easily that it was as evident as it was at Jericho, that the Lord was on their side, and that he it was who fought for them.

From this very interesting narrative we, ourselves, may derive much important instruction and admonition.

Our text says, "There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away

the accursed thing from among you." Injecting the Saviour; and when the Lord God the farther consideration of these words, we of their fathers shall reign in the midst of shall endeavour to show that sin, that ac- them on Mount Zion, and before his ancients cursed thing, which God hates, is a hinder- gloriously. Let us, then, pray that such ance and a reproach to any people, viewed blessedness may be shortly theirs. either as a nation or as individuals.

Let us look at the sin of the Jews, as a nation, in persisting to despise and reject Jesus of Nazareth. They to this very day are as inimical to him as the true Messiah sent from God, as their fathers were, when they persecuted him with cruel hatred, and put him to a painful and ignominious death; and if they had lived in the days of their fathers, they would have acted towards him with as much barbarity and cruelty as they did.

Now, what a shame and reproach are the Jews exposed to for their sin in rejecting Christ, the anointed of God! They are at this moment, as it was predicted concerning them, scattered over all the face of the earth, and are as a proverb and a bye-word among the people in whose land they dwell.

What an accursed thing, too, is the sin of idolatry to any nation!

families of the earth, to send forth the light of his truth to those who are guilty of it, and to incline their hearts to put away from them the accursed thing.

But farther. Those nations which are professedly Christian nations, and on which the pure, sacred, and benignant light of the gospel shines, are frequently seen to encourage some great evil, which operates against their prosperity, and which is a reproach to them.

The dark places of the earth, says the psalmist, are full of the habitations of cruelty. This is, indeed, literally the case. Those people who are ignorant of the one living and true God, through Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, and who are bowing down to stocks and to stones, are in the lowest state of misery and degradation. Idolatry teaches its deluded votaries to practise the grossest abominations and the greatest cruelties; it teaches them to sacrifice their sons and their daughters, and to degrade themselves lower than the very beasts that perish; and idolatry excludes men from any "inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." O, then, if idolatry be such a reproach and hinderFrom what rich blessings also are they ex-ance, let us daily beseech the God of all the cluded in consequence of their not admitting Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and the Saviour of the world! The blessings promised to the spiritual seed of Abraham are not theirs; they, though descended from him according to the flesh, are "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of promise; they are without hope, and atheists in the world.' As they reject the only name given under heaven whereby a sinner can be saved, they are destitute of any true spiritual consolation, and have no right to expect admission into the heavenly Canaan; for this is a rest which can only be enjoyed by the real servants of God-by them who are made his children by spiritual regeneration and by the renewal of the Holy Ghost. Such is the present situation of God's ancient people, the Jews; but may he, in his infinite mercy, grant that the vail may be speedily taken away from their hearts, and that they may be brought to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write. May they be shortly gathered out of all nations into which the Lord their God has driven them, and brought again into their own land, and worship, in his holy temple, on Mount Zion, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, and the Saviour of the world. For that the reproach will be be taken away from God's ancient people Israel, and that they will ultimately be thus honoured and thus blest, we have every reason to believe from the prophetical declarations of holy scripture respecting them. A time will come when they shall put away from them the accursed thing, viz., the sin in re

In no country which is called a Christian country, should any laws be enacted which are likely to be detrimental to the religion of Christ. Frequently, however, this is done; sometimes laws are made which encourage papists, schismatics, and infidels, to spread abroad their pernicious errors, and to deceive the hearts of the simple. Now, whenever this is the case, it is a reproach to any people, and a great hinderance to their prosperity and comfort. When a national crime of this nature and magnitude is committed, it is often visibly seen to be an accursed thing; for the land that is thus guilty is sometimes disturbed and weakened by internal and domestic broils, sometimes it is smitten with the pestilence, and sometimes with the sword of foreign invaders, and all as a just punishment from the Almighty on account of sin, the accursed thing, which it has committed. If, then, a country would prosper, and enjoy the protection and the blessing of its God, it must take care and not encourage any gross and palpable sin; and if it is guilty of such sin, it must at once, and for ever, put it away as the accursed thing.

May God grant that "peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be

established amongst us for all generations;" | Sinner, thou hast frequently been put in

and that we may be ever found a people fearing the Lord and working righteousness! We come now, in the second place, to a closer application of our subject, and to consider it in reference to individuals.

"There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies until ye take away the accursed thing from among you." You, my brethren, are all Christians by profession; you have been baptized in the faith of Christ, and call yourselves members of his visible church. But remember, " He is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." If you have not received the inward and spiritual grace of baptism; that is to say, if the Saviour's blood has not been applied to your sin-polluted souls, it matters not that you have been baptized with water, and that you were signed on your foreheads with the sign of the cross; for you are yet in the "gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity;" sin, the accursed thing, the monster of iniquity, is still lurking in your breasts, and will, if not put away from you, prove your destruction for ever. Are ye, O ye "baptized infidels," living in the commission of gross sins and scandalous vices, while ye claim, in virtue of your baptism, to be the children of God, and heirs according to the promise? Ye are a reproach to the Lord's people, and a cause to them of much sorrow and anguish of heart. The church, of which you are professed members, owns you not as her obedient children; and, were she to exercise over you the wholesome discipline with which she is entrusted, she would put you out from her as an accursed thing, and not receive you again into her bosom till you had made a public confession of your guilt. It is, undoubtedly, for not enforcing this discipline that the church has to mourn over so many ungodly members, and that so much occasion is given for the adversaries of the Lord to blaspheme.

But though the ungodly members of the church may be suffered to continue within her pale, yet are they constantly being reminded of their wickedness, and exhorted to come to repentance, in order that iniquity might not be their ruin. They are reminded that a dreadful day of reckoning will arrive, and that then, if sin, the accursed thing, be found upon them, it will be the cause of their being for ever excluded from the presence of the Lord, and from the felicity of his chosen.

mind of this; thou art reminded of it now. Remember that a day is coming, when he, who is at present waiting, on thy true repentance, to be gracious unto thee and to save thee, will appear as thy terrible adversary to destroy thee. Yes; the Lord Jesus Christ will, at the dreadful day of judgment, unless thou quickly be reconciled to God through him, appear as thy powerful enemy. And thinkest thou that thou wilt be able to stand before his righteous bar undismayed, or elude that terrible sentence, which will then be pronounced upon all the workers of iniquity? Alas! thou wilt be covered with shame and confusion of face; thou wilt call aloud for the "mountains to fall on thee, and the hills to cover thee, and to hide thee from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." This call, however, will be to no purpose; for thou wilt be forced to hear thy terrible sentence pronounced upon thee, which will be, eternal exclusion from God and from heaven, and to have thy portion in the lake that burneth with brimstone and fire for ever.

Such will be the awful punishment of the ungodly and profane; of those who, at the last great day, shall be found with the accursed thing upon them. Oh, then, that men would be wise, and, while they have opportunity afforded them, heartily repent of sin, and put it away from them!

Be

Sinner, let me beseech thee to betake thyself to the cross of Christ, weary and heavy laden with thy sins, feeling the remembrance of them grievous unto thee, and the burden of them intolerable. hold there the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, and at once plunge thy guilty and polluted soul therein, and thus put away the accursed thing from thee. Act thus, I entreat thee, lest thou be consumed with the ungodly at that dreadful period when the wrath of the Almighty shall come upon them even to the uttermost.

But farther. May not sin, the accursed thing, in some degree be found among the real servants of God as well as among his enemies? If we believe the statement of the apostle Paul on the subject, we may certainly conclude that it may. No one can doubt that he was a man of God, and yet, said he, in reference to himself and all true believers, to the end of time-" I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." And again, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" The holy apostle, John, too, was of the same sentiment; for, said he, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,

The sin which troubles you may be either a sin of omission or commission. You are, perhaps, living in the neglect of some possitive duty, such as self-examination and prayer; or the world may have partially entwined itself around your hearts and affections, and you may be following after its contemptible vanities, and engaging in its forbidden pleasures. Some one or other of these sins may be the accursed thing which hinders you in your spiritual warfare; but, whatever it may be, be assured that you cannot stand before your enemies, until you put it away from you.

and the truth is not in us." But though sin dwells in believers, it does not reign in in them; they lament its existence, and labour to mortify and subdue it, according to the power that worketh in them mightily. They watch and pray against it in reliance on the gracious promise-"The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." Sometimes, however, they are negligent in their duty, and do not maintain such continual watchfulness and holy intercourse with God as they should; and then it is that sin, the accursed thing, gets an advantage over them. They have then less of joy and peace in believing, and their spiritual And now, my beloved brethren, I shall strength, instead of increasing, diminishes; conclude this discourse, as I began it, with and, in consequence, they are tossed too the exhortation of the apostle, in the twelfth and fro with every wind of doctrine, and chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews: made the sport of their spiritual adversaries," Wherefore seeing we also until it pleases God to bring them again unto repentance, and the enjoyment of his protection and blessing.

How important, then,, and necessary is it that believers should be continually aiming to mortify the remains of inbred corruption, and to be fortifying themselves against the inroads of sin by following after righteousness and holiness of life.

are com

passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

MEDITATIONS FOR LENT.
The Condemnation of Man's Surety.
BY THE REV. J. H. A. WALSH, M.A.,
Of Balliol College, Oxford, and Minister of Christ
Church, Warminster.

No. I.

THE APPREHENSION OF JESUS. "THE cup that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?" your "Rise up, let us go, lo! he is at hand that doth betray me," was the language of our afflicted Surety, as he went forth to meet his enemies: "while

My Christian brethren, do you complain of your spiritual strength being small, and of not being able, in consequence, to stand before your spiritual enemies? Do you say, that, instead of being able to have victory, and to triumph over the many adversaries with which you have to contend in Christian warfare, you are often being vanquished by them? What, now, let me ask, is the reason of this? Our text supplies the answer: "There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.' There is some sin which ye fondly cherish and cling to, instead of casting it away from you as a deadly serpent, and as utterly to

be abhorred.

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This is the reason why you are making such little progress in the divine life, and why your spiritual foes are continually insulting you, and triumphing over you. Oh, then, my Christian hearers, look well to your own hearts, and to the general tenor of your lives; and whatever you discover to be your besetting sin, instantly repent of it, and cast away from you as the accursed thing; and then, as the Israelites succeeded in taking Ai, after they had destroyed the wicked persons from among them, so shall ye drive your spiritual foes before your face, and in the end, be enabled to come off more than conquerors through Christ the great captain of your salvation, who loved you and gave himself for you.

he yet spake, the traitor and his company appeared,
Judas before the rest, came to him and said hail,
Master,' and kissed him." He had braced up his
mind to the work, had studied his part, and his almost
mechanical determination comes into collision with
the fearless and lofty energy of his Lord. Jesus re-
plied "Friend wherefore art thou come?"
"Judas,

betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?"

What a question! how firm! how calculated to cut the very heart of a very Judas! Each word tells; so

that we hardly know where the greatest stress was laid. "Judas," (it seemed to say,) "I know you, once' my companion, and my own familiar friend; betrayest thou? What, am I to be the victim of treachery like this? 6 Betrayest thou?' could no other guide, no other lips be found, than thine to betray the Son of man;' You at least know my claims to Messiahship; if I am not the Son of Man' to others, yet doubtless I am to thee? And with a kiss' too?

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wearing the mask of affection to the very end."
It would seem as if a pause had now ensued, and
Jesus had gained time to step forward and say, "whom
seek ye?" "Jesus of Nazareth," is the reply. “I am
he," said Jesus, again, when a divine impulse over-
ground." As soon as they had recovered, he again
powering them, "they went backward, and fell to the
told them that he was the person of whom they were
in quest, and pleaded, or rather demanded (for he
was evidently in a condition to make his own terms),
If ye seek me, let these then go their way."

How beautiful the tenderness of Jesus; amid the hurry of the present scene, and the dark prospect of

to-morrow, he remembers his friends, and stipulates for their freedom, as he surrenders his own. St. John evidently felt this kindness, for he subjoins a comment which, though it says little, implies a great deal, and gives a clue by which to discover his own reflections on that interesting occasion. His words are "that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which he spake, of them which thou gavest me have I lost none." If the meaning I attach to these words is correct, perhaps their full force may have escaped some of my readers. I suppose St. John to hint-" Oh if our beloved Lord had not interceded, the rough soldiery would have made us their prisoners, and who knows but their severity might have proved too much for our constancy? Peter, Thomas, James, and I were then young in the faith-our fidelity was tender, and could not bear exposure. We were little accustomed to bear a slight rebuke, without flying back to him, whose ready reply was our ample shield. Had we been brought, at that early period, before the high priest, and the council, and Pilate, I cannot answer for the consequences; we might have forsworn our inestimable master, and never more returned to comfort and to him. But he, our kind Lord, knew, and considered our weakness. He proportioned our trial to it, not suffering the bruised reed to be trodden down, nor the little spark of our faith to be too roughly handled, nor his unconfirmed disciples to be tempted above that we were able to bear." He interceded with his foes in our behalf. Relentless as they were, this one request they granted. Secure of him what cared they that each of us, like frighted 'doves returning to their windows' 'went our way.' We were permitted to escape severe trial, and the saying was accomplished 'of they that thou gavest me, I lost none.'" then, is comfort for humble but affectionate followers, they serve a compassionate master, intimately acquainted with our weaknesses and wants. Only let us take means to "work out our salvation," and not lead ourselves into temptation, and he will feel for us, and consider for us, and proportion either our strength to our day, or our day to our strength; either he will screen from temptation, or amid temptation "stretch forth his right hand, to help and defend us." Let us go forward and fear not.

Here

While the soldiers were securing their prisoner, an interesting incident occurred. One at least of his follower was discovered to wear arms. 'Lord," he exclaims "shall we smite with the sword?" and forthwith inflicted a severe wound on "a servant of the high priest." How careful should the professed followers of Jesus be, to cultivate "that charity which hopeth all things" good, rather than put a malicious or hasty construction upon every 66 appearance of evil!" At this moment, even our Master's character was open to misinterpretation. His prompt interference did, indeed, speedily quell the suspicion. He healed the wound, he rebuked the disciple, but, for the moment, the suspicion of his enemies might seem to have been confirmed. "We were right, then; his followers meditated force," might have passed through many a mind. Let us, then, beware of rapidly "judging according to the appearance; let us judge righteous judgment." Otherwise there is scarcely any limit to the misinterpretations into which we may fall.

Having mildly reproved the undue zeal of St. Peter, Jesus then put him in possession of the key-" this cup that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it ?" It is meek submission to his Father's will, that detains him captive. He, at whose voice the band "went backward, and fell to the ground," might have held them helpless there. The arm that was stretched out to heal, might have been lifted to destroy. The prophet best described his demeanour when he forsaw the Saviour, "led as a lamb to the slaughter," so resigned was he to his lot. Yet, though resigned, he is not insensible. His generous mind could feel this unworthy

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degradation, as keenly as his person could feel the unworthy stripes that followed. Once only he gave utterance to his just indignation; are ye come out as against a thief with swords and with staves to take me?" Obviously he was at once alive to every indignity, and able to escape it, yet cheerfully submissive, and this was the sentiment which bore him patiently on to the very worst," the cup that my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?"

And is not the reader and the writer of these few meditations, in the same world in which Jesus suffered, and in which he is certain of griefs and trials, though to what amount, he knows not? May he not have frequent need of such a sentiment as nerved his Saviour to endurance? These questions admit of only one reply. Let us then take the course which St. Paul took; who deliberately came to a settled conviction that the sufferings of this present time (the bitterest cup our heavenly Father ever mixes for the children of Adam) are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in those who endure it aright. Such a conviction, deeply settled in the mind, will be of incalculable value, both towards our perseverance and our comfort. Let us then count the cost, soberly and steadily, before trial or affliction comes, that it may find us prepared to "drink the cup which a Father mixes." When we come to the task of comparing the present suffering, and the future glory, we are struck with the fact, that our afflictions seem near, the glory distant; we see, we feel, we taste the one; the latter "only by report is known." In this single point of view, afflictions appear to have the preponderance. Yet, let me even here suggest a doubt. Who tells us that affliction is so near, the glory so distant? We fear affliction for to-morrow; be it so; but before to-morrow comes, 66 we may rest from our labours."

But, granting that affliction is the nearer of the two (as to our Lord unquestionably it was), yet, in all other respects the afflictions and rewards of a Christian will scarcely admit of a comparison.

Try to compare their design. I own that our Lord's sufferings were expiatory; but our sufferings are not properly the due punishment of sin. In hell God will reward men according to their deserts; but on earth, affliction is rather purifying than vindictive, designed to chasten, to try, and to purify, to work for our good. It never reaches the full desert of sin. On the contrary, the Christian's heavenly reward will be real it will be designed to shew to the full, how "blessed is the man whom" the Lord "delighteth to honour." We do indignity therefore to heaven, if our view of its transcendent delights do not lead us to say of the bitterest cup, "the cup that my Father has given me,

shall I not drink it ?"

Look again at these respective degrees. Our Redeemer's agony was almost unmixed, yet some hope at least shed a ray upon it. Most of our sorrows have their alleviations also. But in heaven there will be bliss without alloy; Eden, without its trial; health, and no plague spots to threaten; power, vigour, hope, without disappointment, will be there. So far does the happiness of the blessed outweigh the greatest misery on earth, so fully should it reconcile us to the bitterest "cup!"

But let us add to this, that the bitter cup is but for a while, the bliss eternal! From the sound of all that now distresses, the reach of all that now annoys, we must cre long remove. Well, then, may we consent to any cup, as Jesus did to his. His was most bitter, but it lasted but a day. How far more than compensating the 1,800 years of bliss that have followed; yet what are eighteen centuries to eternity? But O remember our eternity will be as long as his!

Joint-heirs with Christ in everlasting glory, take we patiently our few days' sorrow, in the spirit of our submissive Master; and say we to our soul "Put up thy sword into its sheath; restrain thy complaints within

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