blocked up, and therefore no longer unoccupied. Place your thrones of judgment where you will, in the gate, in the highway, the communication is open, there is none to make you afraid, the enemies whom you have seen, you shall fee them no more again for

ever."

Her next address feems to be made to the fhepherds of the lately oppreffed country. "They that are delivered from the noife of archers in the places of drawing water; there fhall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts towards the inhabitants of his villages in Ifrael; then fhall the people of the Lord go down to the gates." They are reprefented as trembling at the found of their own feet among the pebbles of the brook, left thereby they should awaken the attention of their rapacious mafters; they are afraid to drive their flocks to the watering place, left they fhould expofe themfelves and their harmless fleecy charge, to the cruel fhafts of the archer, ever on the watch to gall and annoy them. But now, there, even there, in the very fcene of their forrow and mifery, where the ruftling of a leaf durft not be heard, they fhall break out together into finging; there, free from forrow, free from fear, "fhall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts to the inhabitants of the villages in Ifrael." Finally, fhe calls upon the inhabitants of the villages, the hufbandmen and vine-dreffers, to add their voices to the fwelling band, on recovering their tranquillity, on being reftored to the felicity of labouring for themselves, and faved from the mortification of feeing lazy, infolent ftrangers devouring the fruit of their painful toil, and repairing, as before, in happier days, to their own gates, to their own judges for juftice and judgement. Thus we hear, as it were, the tuneful choir gradually increafing in number, the peafant taking up the fong which the fhepherd had put into his mouth, the fhepherd following the magiftrate,

* Verfe 11.

trate, the magiftrate the foldier, till all Ifrael becomes one voice, one heart, one foul, to celebrate the high praises of God. Faint representation of that more glorious confummation, that purer triumph, that more aufpicious day, that inexpreffibly more important falvation, to which the believer in Chrift Jefus looks in hope.

The voice of this univerfal chorus having ceased, a folemn pause of fome moments seems to enfue; when the divinely-infpired poetefs awakes to new rapture; and the harmony of myriads of joyful voices fubfides into the melody of one fimple train. "Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a fong: arife, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou fon of Abinoam." * What genuine touches of nature have we here, what fimplicity, what pathos, what fublimity! She feems to regret her exhaufted powers; her fpirit is ftill willing; the cannot bear to cease fo foon from fo divine an employ; fhe ftarts into fresh enthusiasm. Having put words of praife into the mouths of a whole faved people, fhe takes up her own peculiar ftrain; "Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a fong" And then, turning to the companion of her victory, excites him to make a public difplay of the wonderful trophies of that wondrous day; "Arife, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou fon of Abinoam." Exhibit them in chains, who had forged chains for the hands and feet of Ifrael; lead them captive, who led in captivity the free-born fons of God; fhew triumphantly the fpoils of them that spoiled thee; "the prey taken from the mighty, and the lawful captive delivered;" them that " oppreffed thee fed with their own flesh, and drunken with their own blood, as with fweet wine;" a righteous "God contending with them, who contended with thee." "Thou fon of Abinoam." She roufes her noble col- . league to excel in praife, as he had excelled in counfel and courage, by one of the most powerful motives

of

* Verse 12.

of human conduct, the honour of his father's name and family. Let the names of Barak and Abinoam be tranfmitted, hand in hand, with refpect, to the lateft generations; let the world know that on Abinoam a gracious Providence conferred the distinguished honour of being the father of the father of his country.

It is not ancestry, it is not country that can bestow celebrity on a deedlefs name, on an idle or worthless character; it is illuftrious virtue, it is fuperior wifdom, it is useful ability that confers nobility, true nobility on families, and celebrity on countries. Contending cities claim the honour of giving birth to Homer. Strip Athens of her renowned fons, and she finks into a mass of rocks and fand. How would the heart of Abinoam glow with delight, as often as the found of his name reached his ears, in connexion with that of a fon whom a grateful country acknowledged, and celebrated with fongs, as its faviour!

In the 13th verfe we fee the low and reduced state of Ifrael again brought into view, to prepare for a fresh discovery of the power and goodnefs of God, and to exhibit in another point of light, the folidity, ftrength and fecurity of his church," out of weaknefs made ftrong," "waxing," in a moment, " valiant in fight, turning to flight the armies of the aliens."

"In

"Then

he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty." In two ftriking particulars, this gracious interpofition of Heaven is emphatically pointed out. "He made him that remaineth to have dominion. It was not the strength of Ifrael which God employed in crufhing the "nobles” and pride of Canaan, it was not by oppofing force to force, fkill to fkill, that Providence decided the conteft; but by a scattered, broken remainder; but by a difpirited handful, that durft not truft themfelves in the plain against the enemy, but by an unarmed rabble whom Sifera held in contempt, that Jehovah trampled

* Verse 13.

pled the glory of Jabin in the duft; as by a cake of barley bread rolling down upon a tent and levelling it with the ground.

To fet the divine fovereignty in a ftill ftronger light, Deborah fuggefts, but not in the fpirit of felf-confidence, that when God did appear for his people, he did it not, by kindling martial ardour and refentment in manly bofoms, by putting the machine in motion in the ufual way; but by creating a new thing in the earth; by endowing a woman with more than manly fagacity and refolution; by making a woman the life and foul of a finking nation; that God himfelf might have the undivided praife. "The Lord made me have dominion over the mighty." Is it not fomewhat remarkable, that Deborah is only once defcribed as the wife of Lapidoth? whereas Barak is repeatedly, both in history and in fong, brought forward as the fon of fuch a father, Is it to mark the bafe degeneracy of Ifrael at this period? all mafculine virtue extinguished, and importance funk; the only trace of the existence of the man, that he was the husband of fuch a woman? The repetition of this relation therefore may have been omitted, because it would have reflected reiterated difgrace upon the one, without adding much to, perhaps fomewhat detracting from, the glory of the other. Whereas the blazoning of a fon's praife, inftead of detracting from, is the moft gratifying addition to, a father's honour.

In the paffage which follows, the prophetefs goes with a poetical and prophetic enthufiafm into a detail of the diftinguishing characters, of the feveral tribes of Ifrael, according to the part which they had taken, or neglected to take, in the caufe of their country, at this trying crifis, which at prefent I fhall fimply quote, with a fingle remark; and then conclude. "And

the princes of Iffachar were with Deborah; even Iffachar, and alfo Barak: he was fent on foot into the valley. For the divifions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart. Why abodeft thou among the

fheep

fheep-folds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? for the divifions of Reuben there were great fearchings of heart. Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in fhips? Afher continued on the feafhore, and abode in his breaches. Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field."* This is the third time that prophetic infpiration has prefented us with the difcriminating features of the fons of Ifrael, and of the tribes which defcended from them, at three different periods, and in very different fituations-Jacob on his dying bed, Mofes on the wing to afcend Mount Nebo, and Deborah on the defeat of Sifera. The comparative view of Ifrael at these diftant periods feems to me a subject of curious, pleasant and not useless difquifition, and I mean to devote the meditation of a particular evening to it.

The feafont arrefts us now, and demands a feries of reflections fuited to winter, and change, and decay, and death. The paft rushes upon our memory and affections in an impetuous tide. The future ftill presents the fame impenetrable curtain to our eager eyes. We go on fondly planning; and after a thoufand proofs of vanity, return to treafure up for ourfelves vexation of fpirit. But we fhall be relieved at length, and ere long land on that fhore where fear and hope are no longer. If permitted to enter on the commencement of another year, we fhall endeavour to improve that kind indulgence, by endeavouring to fuggeft reflections fuited to the occafion. If permitted to advance to a fecond fabbath in a new year, we fhall attempt to refume our accuftomed purfuits: If to any, this be the laft opportunity of the kind, the folemn farewell is now taken. And kind is that Providence which does not always let us know when we are faying "finally farewell;" which permits the bitternefs of death to pafs before we are fenfible it is come. Woe, woe, woe, to the man who is punifhed with the

* Verse 15-18,

The last day of the year.